LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 




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PRATER 



AND ITS 




BEING A STATEMENT OF FACTS IN THE LIGHT 
OF REASON AND REVELATION. 

WILLIAM W. PAT TON, D.D., 

PKES. HOWAED TINIVEKSITT, WASHINGTOIT, D. C. AUTHOR OF " THE YOUNO 
MAN," "CONSCIENCE AND LAW," "SPUBITUAL VICTOKT," ETC. 



TWENTIETH EDITION.* 

ENLAKGET) BT TWO SUPPLEMENT AKT CHAPTERS, ON THE CREDULITY 
OP skepticism" and "the RELATIONS OP SCIENCE 
TO REVEALED RELIGION." 

GO- , 

HARTFORD, CONN. : 

JAMES BETTS & CO. 
J. S. GOODMAN, Chicago, III. 
1880. 



The LreRARY 
OF Congress 



'■NGTON 



%5> 



COPYHTGHT 1880. 
WILLIAM W. PATTON. 



PREFACE. 



The sale of nineteen thousand copies of this work in the course 
of four years, and its republication abroad, would seem to indi- 
cate that it met a felt want in the popular mind. As this circu- 
lation has been obtained notwithstanding the financial embarrass- 
ments of the times, it has seemed proper with the return of pros- 
perity to issue a new and enlarged edition. The general idea of 
the author was sufficiently expressed in the following language of 
the preface to the first edition, in which the plan of the work 
was described. "An attempt is made in this volume to give, 
in a popular form, the facts and the philosophy of the sub- 
ject. It is written for the people ; yet it assumes that they 
are neither children nor fools, and will welcome an intelli- 
gent discussion of a fundamental question. The first seven 
chapters aim, therefore, to elucidate the nature, characteris- 
tics, methods and conditions of Prayer ; to show its true 
place in the system of the universe; and to answer the 
specious objections of the skeptics. The argument is de- 
signed to be thorough, without being dry and abstruse. 

But the chief aim of the book is to furnish authentic facts, 
so grouped and explained, in the light of the principles set 
forth in the early chapters, as to dispel doubt, and encourage 
a rational and Scriptural faith. The answers to prayer have 
been drawn from a wide region of investigation. A few 
from the olden time have been inserted, but, for obvious 

(3) 



4 



PREFACE. 



reasons, preference has been given to those of recent dato. 
These have been furnished by Christian brethren to an extent 
which compelled the author to use only a selection; but his 
hearty thanks are equally returned to all who have thus 
aided his researches, whether he has had space to insert 
their communications, or not. A few Chiistians, who deny 
the practical value of such testimony to the power of Prayer, 
will find their ideas curiously represented, and, it is trusted, 
satisfactorily discussed, in the concluding chapter. 

These answers to prayer are styled " Eemarkable," not 
because it is at all strange in itself, that such things should 
take place, under the divine government, but only that they 
appear so to the incredulity of the world, and to the weak 
faith of the church. If there were more real prayer, the 
striking answers would be everyday occurrences. The facts 
cited are made the subject of discriminating comment, to 
preserve the reader from unwarrantable inferences, and the 
embrace of theories which work delusion instead of faith. 
The desire of the author has been to produce a volume 
which should be welcomed by every pastor, as helpful to the 
progress of piety in his church, and which should encour- 
age the Christian to ask and expect great blessings for him- 
self and for others." 

Two supplementary chapters are added in this new edition, 
which many will welcome in this skeptical age. The first, on 
"The Credulity of Skepticism," shows what small occasion the 
infidel has to taunt the believer in prayer and in the Bible with a 
too ready credence of absurdity. The second, on ' ' The Relations 
of Science and Revealed Religion," may serve to relieve the per- 
plexities of some who have not known how to harmonize the doc- 
trines of Scripture with the teachings of nature, 

Howard Uniyersity, WAsnrnGTON, D, C, March 8, 1880. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PRAYER CHARACTERISTIC OF PIETY. 

fhe cloud of incense ever rising — Thoughtful heathen and 
Mohammedans pray — A proof of conversion — The history 
of piety, the history of prayer — The Old Testament worthies 
— Also New Testament saints — Jesus and his disciples — 
Later history of the church — Martin Luther, quotations and 
anecdotes — John Calvin — J ohn Knox — Anecdotes — Me- 
lanchthon — Gustavus Adolphus — Philip Henry — Samuel 
Rutherford — Jonathan Edwards — David Brainerd — R. M. 
McCheyne — Thomas Arnold — Henry Martyn — James B. 
Taylor — Harlan Page — Normand Smith, Jr. — Montgomery's 
"Call to Prayer." 17-83 

CHAPTER II. 

WHAT TRUE PRAYER IS. 

Importance of definite ideas — Christians who explain away 
Prayer — Accept God's explanation — Bible treats largely of 
this topic — F. W. Robertson's view; prayer is simply an act of 
submission to the Divine will — Prayer more than religious 
meditation — Is a direct address to God — Includes adoration, 
confession, thanksgiving and petition — Adoration, its idea 
and use — Illustrated by Daniel and Jesus — Confession, its 
necessity and effect — Cases of Abraham and Daniel — 
Thanksgiving, its propriety — Language of the Psalms, of 
Jesus, and of Paul — Petition, the object and heart of prayer 
(5) 



6 



CONTENTS. 



— Robertson's theory further stated — Similar views of a 
Western minister — Also of an Eastern minister — The In- 
stincts of nature, and the words of Scripture contradict , it — 
Ludicrous absurdity — The commands opposed to it — Also 
the promises — Also the form of reported prayers, of Jesus, 
David, Hannah, Daniel, the Church of Jerusalem, and a host 
of others — Also the specific answers recorded for instruction 
and encouragement — Lines of Trench on value of prayer .33-48 

CHAPTER III. 

WHY PRAYEH PREVArLS. 

Inquiry for the principle that underlies prayer — Does God need 
human permission ; or an increase of knowledge ; or an im- 
provement of disposition; or an amendment of plan? — The 
inquiries natural and proper — Crude ideas to be disowned — 
Bible condemns them — Priests of Baal and Elijah — Vain 
repetitions of the Heathen — Also of the Romanists — Doc- 
trine of Jesus — God's moral government; its ends and means 

— Parental government, and its methods — Its wise use of 
prayer — Transfer of the conception to the Divine govern- 
ment — Prayer a simple but potent device to secure the chief 
thing at which God aims — Prayer prevails because it fulfills 
the necessary moral condition — Prayer deliberately inserted 
by God in the plan of his universe ; as truly so as any natural 
law recognized by the physicists — God will adhere to his 
plan — Tennyson's tribute to prayer 49-56 

CHAPTER ly. 

THE METHOD OF THE ANSWER. 

Are answers to prayer natural or supernatural ? — Is the suppo- 
sition of a miracle necessary? — F. W. Robertson's theory — 
Mental reaction — Quotations — Physical philosophers admit 
a liturgical value— Their theory stated — The theory fails to 
cover the facts — Erroneously limits the effect to the petitioner 
and to spiritual results -Robertson's assertion incorrect — 



CONTENTS. 



Contradicted by the case of Jacob ; of David ; of Hezekiah ; 
of Daniel; of Peter — These effects not reflex, nor spiritual — 
Spiritual answers also involve a supernatural power— The 
promised Comforter — The reflex theory suicidal — Men will 
not resort to prayer as a mere self-magnetism — Revert to the 
original inquiry, after the method — The fact alone important 
— God not shut up to one method — May answer directly, or 
mediately— Through natural causes; by men; or by angelic 
agency — Examples of each of these methods — Letter from a 
Massachusetts minister — Reasons for ordinarily using human 
agency — Stiiking fact in the experience of Dr. Judson — Pro- 
fessor Stowe's illustration and supposition — Lines by Adelaide 
A. Proctor , 57-73 



CHAPTER V. 

CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS IN PRAYEH. 

Importance of the subject — The conditions to be learned from 
the nature of the case, and from express assertions of Scrip- 
ture — 1. A sense of want — Need of God and the value of 
prayer realized — 2. Reverence — God must guard his own 
honor — 3. Filial spirit — God responds to his children — 4. 
Gratitude — Future blessings not to be expected, if ungrateful 
for past good — 5. Humility — Prayer to be based on the 
truth — Our demerits to be recognized — 6. Faith — Implied 
in the idea of Prayer — Positively required in Scripture — 7 
Obedience — Only the loyal may petition — Only those in 
sympathy with God can prevail in prayer — 8. Forgiveness of 
injuries — Those who ask to be forgiven, must forgive — 9. 
Approved objects — God does not abdicate — Exercises his 
perfect wisdom — By his Spirit teaches us true wants and the 
meaning of his promises — 10. Importunate perseverance — 
Is much insisted on in the Bible — 11. Ask in the name of 
Christ — He the appointed Mediator — 12. Appropriate effort 
— Prayer no substitute for work, but its aid — 13. Union with 
others — Each prayer a power — United prayer an augmented 
power — All the conditions reducible to one — A right state of 



8 



CONTENTS. 



heart — The conditions real, and must be observed — Lines by 
Kobert Southwell 73-88 

CHAPTER yi. 

THE PRAYER OP FAITH. 

The subject misunderstood — The deluded misjudge and distress 
others — Fall into difficulties themselves — A reported instance 
— Material for skepticism — The erroneous theory ; anything 
to be had, by believing that it will be given — Supposed proof 
texts — Objections to the theory — 1. Makes God abdicate his 
throne — 2. Badly adapted to moral training — 3. Would ruin 
us and those for whom we pray — 4. Involves self-contradic- 
tion — 6. Fails to furnish evidence — Singular letter from 
"Father Nash " — His death from over-excitement, and a false 
sense of responsibility — Testimony of Rev. Asa Mahan, D 
D. — 6. Bible lends no support to the theory — Interpretation 
of the texts referred to — The correct theory ; that in prayer one 
must believe that God will be true to all he has promised — 
What ground has faith to stand on? — 1. The general pledge 
that prayer shall be answered, in some way — 2. Specific 
promises, numerous and minute — Not to be interpreted im- 
aginatively — The Bible not a conjuring-book — Unhappy de- 
lusions and mistakes from such a use — Facts in proof — Yet 
Holy Spirit may suggest and use particular passages — Case 
of Augustine — 3. Indications of Divine providence, revealing 
God's will — 4. Leadings of the Holy Spirit — These promised 
as aid in prayer — These show us our true wants — These ex- 
plain Scripture — These interpret providences — Mr. Finney's 
anecdote — Professor Upham's view — Catherine Adorna — 
Lines by John Newton 89-111 

CHAPTER VII. 

SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PRAYER. 

Opposition of skeptics to prayer — This natural, and ancient — 
Physical philosophers take the lead — The dilemma they pro- 



CONTENTS. 



9 



pose — A brief counter-view — Explanation of the skepticism 
— Logical necessities — Prayer implies the whole of super- 
natm-al religion — Shyness of skeptics — Quotation from Rous- 
seau — Comment — Prayer founded on reason — 1. A universal 
instinct — Guizot's beautiful tribute — Instinct pre-supposes a 
want and a supply — The parental analogy — Acknowledged 
by Professor Tyndall, as plausible — 2. Historic evidence of 
prayer as answered — In all ages men have so believed — Those 
who pray most, most certain — Prayer to be tested ; but as a 
moral force — Not on merely physical conditions — The fa- 
mous Hospital-test of Sir William Thompson and Professor 
Tyndall — Proposes to test the prayer-theory, yet violates the 
conditions — Makes an impossible demand — Encounters a 
moral diflaculty — Ignores submission — Furnishes no assur- 
ance of good result — 3. Prayer based on moral necessity — In 
iio other way can man be educated — Why skeptics object — 
From total misapprehension — Professor Tyndall's admission 
ds to spiritual effect of prayer — Its greater difficulties — How 
prayer uses natural law — Illustration from man's use of it — 
Evolution furnishes an illustration of a possible explanation 
of prayer — The position of the mathematician Euler — A. A. 
Waring's lines 112-136 



CHAPTER VIII. 

BIBLE-ANSWERS TO PRAYER — OLD TESTAMENT. 

The Bible teaches by example, as well as precept — Biography 
and History illustrate Doctrine — Numerous declarations of 
David — Select instances only given, to mark classes of cases 
— 1. Prayers for personal deliverance from danger — Ja- 
cob's prayer at Peniel — Charles Wesley's famous hymn — 
2. Prayers for others — Moses as an intercessor — A type of 
Christ — Another poem of Charles Wesley — 3. Parental pray- 
ers — Hannah's petition — Samuel's character — 4. Prayer for 
reviving of religion — Elijah — Contest with the priests of 
Baal — 5. Prayer tested by its enemies — Daniel and the Per- 
sian Princes — Triumphant result — 6. Patriotic prayers — 



10 



CONTENTS. 



The invasion of Judea — Danger of Jerusalem — Insulting 
letter — Hezekiah's prayer — Isaiah's prophecy — The over- 
whelming result — Byron's tribute to the sublime fact. 137-154 

CHAPTER IX. 

BIBLE-ANSWERS TO PRAYER — NEW TESTAMENT. 

A still clearer light with the advent of Christ — He the con- 
necting link of earth and heaven — His ministry a series of 
answers to prayer — The i^ew Testament motto is, "Pray 
without ceasing" — Facts selected, to illustrate four states 
of mind essential to success — 1. The prayer of Faith — The 
Roman Centurion and his sick servant — Confidence in the 
power of Jesus — Humility aids faith — 2. The prayer of im- 
portunity — The Syro-Phenician mother and her daughter — 
Another Gentile — Discouraging action of Jesus — The moth- 
er's perseverance and victory — 3. The prayer of union — 
Peter in prison, under sentence of death — A whole church 
prays for him — The last night comes, and the deliverance 
also — 4. The prayer of fervent spiritual desire — This for the 
gift of the Holy Spirit — A specific promise laid a foundation 
for faith — The ten days of prayer — The day of Pentecost — 
The incidental and the permanent — Review of the cases cited 
from the Bible — The facts confirm the theory — George Her- 
bert's poem on Prayer.. ^ 155-167 

CHAPTER X. 

PRAYER FOR THE SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS — (Commenced.) 

Manna in the desert — Elijah's ravens — Is there such experience 
now? — Let facts answer — Mother of Dorothea Trudel — Her 
faith and its reward — Case of Henry Young Stilling — How 
he went to the University — How he was supported — A CaL 
ifornia experience related by Dr. Horace Bushnell — Deliver- 
ance at sea; the only survivor of fhe Albion — Direction in 
an emergency; Mr. Blair's experience — A result in Parlia- 
ment ; Sir Fowell Buxton's pra;^ ers — How the policy of Ober- 



CONTENTS. 



11 



lin College was decided; Mrs. Shipherd's letter — Prayer for 
rain — Dr. E. Pond's account — Professor Cowle's statement — 
Mr. Finney's narrative — William Huntington's "Bank of 
Faith " — A college student supported — Mrs. Jane C. Pithey 's 
daily life of faith — Poor Caleb ; prayer brings supply from an 
unknown source — John Logan's application of Jacob's 
prayer at Bethel 168-189 

CHAPTER XI. 

PRAYER FOR THE SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS — (Concludcd.) 

•Miss Lucy R. Drake's experience — Desire to be a foreign mis- 
sionary — The hindrance — Engagement at the Consumptive's 
Home — Faith increased — Relinquishes salary — Gives away 
savings — Relies on God only — Money comes as needed — 
About to go to India — No society pledged for her support — 
Remarks of the author on this narrative — Miss Drake's prac- 
tice not a law for others — Billy Bray's pulpit — Newport 
Gardener ; a slave prays himself into freedom — Escape from 
a bear — A lady missionary testifies — A Will ; an anticipative 
answer to prayer — Another case — Prayer a part of God's 
plan — Delivery from unjust wrath — Reconciliation — Another 
prayer for rain — Anna Shipton and the blind boy — Prayer 
in sundry exigencies — The smaller events of life — Lines by 
Paul Gerhardt--- 190-211 

CHAPTER XII. 

PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING — (Commenced.) 

Truth and error on this subject — James not to be misinter- 
preted — Various meanings suggested — Universal healing 
not intended — Healing may always be prayed for, with sub- 
mission — Is often granted — Dorothea Trudel's experience — 
Her institution and methods — Classification of the facts — 
1. Thorough consecration the basis — 2. The principal aim, 
spiritual results — 3. Natural auxiliaries not neglected — 4. 
No cures promised — Instantaneous relief not usually ex- 



12 



CONTENTS. 



pected — 5. Like-minded helpers — Prayer availed at a dis- 
tance — Case of Mrs. Jane C. Miller, the wife of a Congrega- 
tional minister — Instantly healed of chronic rheumatism — 
Attestation by her husband and others — Case of Rev. A. Con- 
nett's daughter — Sciatic rheumatism, shrunken and shortened, 
limb — Reads of Mrs. Miller's experience — Prayer of mother 
and daughter — The sudden cure — Healing of a Methodist 
minister's wife; case of Mrs. Ellen Clark Sherman — Nu- 
merous injuries — Bed-ridden condition — Spiritual exercises 
— A seeming vision or felt presence of Christ — Faith to be 
healed — Instant result — Permanent relief — A home mis- 
sionary saved to the work — Testimony of Charles Cullis, M. 
D. — Cure of a tumor ; of consumption ; of cancer in cheek ; 
of neuralgia — All cases not healed — Remarks by author — 
A visit to Mannedorf — Further report of cases — Lines by 
Whittier 212-243 



CHAPTER XIII. 

PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING — (Concluded.) 

Luther's prayer for dying Melanchthon — Case of Rev. S. H. 
Piatt, a Methodist minister — Statements by Rev. Horace Bush- 
nell, D. D. — An English gentleman — Comment — Insanity 
cured — Another case — A young lady healed — Her letter — 
Bishop Simpson's life saved — Deafness of twenty years cured 

— Miss Lucy R. Drake's account; cured of consumption — 
Testimony of Mrs. C. S. Whitney — Two cases of children — A 
freedman cured of consumption — A girl cured — A case in 
New York city — Cure of Bright's disease and paralysis — Re- 
marks upon cases cited — 1. Large proportion of cures grad- 
ual — 2. Vary as to use of medicine — 3. Many of the cures 
naturally explicable — 4. Connection of physical and spiritual 

— 5. The law of a specific faith — Views of Rev. C. B. Boyn- 
ton, D. D. — Medical explanation of H. M. Lyman, M. D. — 
Lines in sickness, by Heinrich Puchta 243-275 



CONTENTS. 



13 



CHAPTER XIV. 

PHAYER FOR SANCTIFyiNQ- GRACE. 

The connection of inward and outward bestowments — Instances 
in the New Testament — Christ's double ministry — Spiritual 
victory possible — Only half-believed in — Power of prayer — 
How Paul obtained grace — His "thorn in the flesh" — An 
English lady's experience; transition-case from last chapter 
to this — Delivered from all fear and anxiety — Another lady; 
Victory over irritability; " Jesus, help me! " — Prayer the key 
to "Higher Life" experience — Remarks by the author — A 
student's victory — Fall salvation by faith — "My richer ex- 
perience," by Mrs. Whitne}^ — The process — Desire, prayer, 
trials, and faith — Narratives of R. Pearsall Smith — Testis 
mony of a physician — Of a Presbyterian minister — Lines of 
Horatius Bonar 376-393 

CHAPTER XV. 

PRATER TO OVERCOME PHYSICAL HABIT. 

Certain cases of sin call for special grace — Effect of sin on the 
body and mind — Failure of philosophy — Legal efforts unsuc- 
cessful — A gospel needed — Augustine's defeat and victory — 
Extract from his "Confessions" — Victory over tobacco and 
opium — Rev. W. H. Boole's facts — A church officer — Thirty 
years of bondage — An aged lady — A carpenter in Brooklyn, 
K. Y. — Cases reported by Mrs. C. S. Whitney — Triumph 
over tobacco — Prayer subdues the alcohol-appetite — The 
saved man now a minister — Testimonies collected by Rev. S. 
H. Piatt — Victory over tobacco and alcohol — Lines by 
Charles Wesley 394-306 

CHAPTER XVI. 

PRATER FOR INDIVIDUAL CONVERSIONS. 

Startling language of the Bible — Can one man convert another ? 
— Prayer a power — A Bible-class teacher's experience; im- 



CONTENTS. 



mediate results; a late result — Illustration from pen of Prof. 
Austin Phelps, D. D. — A very difficult case at a distance — A 
circle of prayer — Power of united petition — Experience of 
Catlierine Adorna — Prayer for soul of a sick man — The con- 
version of an infidel — A prompt answer — Conversion of a 
husband; a touching narrative — Effect of habitual prayer — 
Experience of jSTormand Smith, Jr. — Success in an unprom- 
ising case of a pupil — A prajdug acquaintance of Rev. C. G-. 
Finney — A fact communicated by Rev. Enoch Pond, D. D. — 
Testimony of Rev. P. Hagler — Conversion of an infidel major 
and his family — A triple success to prayer — A father con- 
verted, at a distance — A case on missionary ground — A Brah- 
man saved — A female skeptic converted — D. L. Moody and 
the Scotch infidel — Prayer opens a house and saves souls — 
A sister's prayers — How an Emperor of Russia was con- 
verted — Several children brought to Christ — A dreaded 
duty performed; the blessed results — Extract from "The 
Two Dreams." .307-337 



CHAPTER XYII. 

PAKENTAL PRAYERS. 

Parental prayer noted through the ages — Has a basis in the 
divine institution of the family — Also in special covenants 
and promises — Augustine and Monica — Her anxiety and 
perpetual supplication — Long delay, but final success — His 
own account — Source of parental faith in prayer — Mr. Fin- 
ney's remarks and illustration — Yiews of Rev. Howard 
Crosby, D. D., LL. D. — Hlustrative cases — Two praying 
mothers — A son's account; Rev. C. B. Crane, D. D. — His 
father's petition — Narrative of Rev. A. S. Kedzie — A moth- 
er's faith and its reward — Two mothers — A praying father 
in Scotland; what came of it — A mother's confidence — A 
North American Indian mother — A burden rolled off — 
Heard at last — A son at school — Unsubmissive prayers; 
Warnings — Lines by Mrs. Hyde 338-357 



CONTENTS. 



15 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

PRAYER FOR MINISTERS, CHURCHES AND REVIVALS. 

Prayer sweeps a wide circle — Praying to obtain a pastor — Dr. 
Wo.lcott's experience — Spiritual baptism of a pastor — How 
a clinrch can better itself — Another case — The meeting at 
the red school house — Dr. Wisner's account of a revival — 
Revivals under Rev. Charles G-. Finney — His revival lectures 

— A praying soul and a succession of revivals — A Scotcii 
revival, two and a half centuries since — Recent revivals — In 
America — In Ireland — In Scotland — In Wales — The " week 
of prayer " as a sign of the times — Day of prayer for colleges 

— D. L. Moody's work — Prof Upham's conception — Bonar's 
version of Psalm cxxvi 358-384 



CHAPTER XIX. 

PRAYER FOR CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 

These spring from the very heart of Christianity — Prayer nat- 
urally connects itself with them — Franke and the Orphan 
House at Halle — Succession of deliverances — Louis Harms 
and his missions — George Miiller and his Orphan Houses — 
The Boston Consumptives' Home and Dr. Cullis — Chicago 
Foundling's Home and Dr. Shipman — Remarks of the author 
on the theory of non-solicitation — Its claim to be the faith- 
method — Three objections — No support from the reason of 
the case — None from Scripture — None from history — What 
its seeming success really means and teaches — Lines by Char- 
lotte Elliot 385-400 



CHAPTER XX 

REVIEW OF FACTS IN CONCLUSION. 

Is such a book properly helpful to Christian faith — Letter of a 
minister, in the negative — His argument — His agricultural 
illustration — His disgust with the constant citing of Muller's 



16 



CONTENTS. 



success — His idea of tlie use of prayer — Eeply — His mis- 
takes as to facts and principles — How cited facts on this sub- 
ject may be appropriate — Right and wrong farming — Right 
and wrong praying — Why Daniel was tested, and the fact 
recorded — Why prayers seem to be unanswered explained by 
James — Lines by Greorge Herbert , 401-408 

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER NO. L 

THE CREDULITY OP SKEPTICISM. 

The tables turned on the skeptics — 1. Initial credulity in believ- 
ing that to reject Christianity is to get rid of religious difficulties 
— Sir Yfm. Hamilton's remark — 2. Credulity in superstitious 
practices — Anecdotes of Lord Herbert, Goethe, Marquis D'Ar- 
gens, Thomas Hobbes, Montaigne, Rousseau, and Lord Byron — 
3. Credulity in adopting absurd metaphysical theories — John 
Stuart Mill's rejection of first truths — 4. Credulity in hasty 
adoption of new physical theories. Anecdotes of Mills, Hobbes, 
and Yoltaire. The Guadaloupe skeleton — Reasoning of Strauss 
— 5. Credulity as to ancient history — Alphabetic writing — Zo- 
diac of Denderah — Horner's brick — Opinion of Sir G. C. Lewis 
— 6. Credulity in adopting religious theories — As to possibility 
of harmony — As to Materialism — As to Humanitarianism — As to 
Spiritualism — Faith in Christ leads to the truth, 409-438 

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER NO. II. 

THE BELATIONS OP SCIENCE TO REVEALED RELIGION. 

1. Scientific and religious truth equally legitimate studies — 2. 
Investigations in each department to be independently con- 
ducted — Anecdote of Dr. L. Woods and Prof. M. Stuart— No 
dictation on either side — Yiew of Dr. W. B. Carpenter — 3. 
Bible given to teach religious and not scientific truth — How far 
the Bible is committed to physical facts — What to be done in 
case of apparent discrepancy with science — No justice in sneer 
of Biichner — Former misinterpretations of Scripture on phys- 
ical points — Rule of interpretation now used — Application to 
subject of prayer, 4oy-4o6 



PRAYER, 

AND ITS 

Remarkable Answers. 



CHAPTER I. 

PRATER CHARACTERISTIC OF PIETY. 

It will prepare one to believe in the moral certainty 
of the prevalence of prayer, if he will consider how 
characteristic prayer has ever been of piety, and con- 
sequently what a cloud of incense has been rising 
before God, from the time of Adam's first petition, to 
the last ejaculation which has anywhere escaped the 
lips of a sorely distressed soul. The instinct is so 
universal, that there never has been a form of religion 
which did not include this as an essential duty; for, 
dark as the human mind may be, if once it conceives 
of God and man as in any kind of relationship, the idea 
of prayer springs up as the connecting link. Thus, 
the heathen pray; the Mohammedans pray; all sects 
of Christians pray; and even some of the skeptics have 
a vague faith in the exercise. 

1^ (17) 



18 



PRAYER AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 



For pietj is emphatically godliness — the constant 
recognition of God. It implies faith in his being, 
personality, character, providence and moral govern- 
ment. And such faith leads directly to him in con- 
scious communion and worship. Prayer is this inter- 
course in its most pure, direct and natural form. 
!No thing else brings God so nigh to the soul; that is, 
nothing else so fills it with the sense of his presence. 
And we translate, as it were, into the language of 
prayer, all our thoughts of God, all the doctrines of 
religion, all the impressions made upon the mind by 
reading the Scriptures, or by laying to heart the les- 
sons of providence. 

This is the reason that prayer is enumerated among 
the evidences of conversion. "Behold he prayeth!" 
is as sure an indication of a new life in man now, as it 
was in the case of the converted Saul of Tarsus. It 
is as truly the natural act of a new-born soul, feeling 
its dependence upon God, as suckling is the instinct- 
ive act of the new-born infant. It must adore; it 
must confess; it must give thanks; it must petition. 
How else can it live? 

" Prayer is the Christian's vital breath, 
The Christian's native air ; 
His watchword at the gate of death : 
He enters heaven with prayer. 

" Prayer is the contrite sinner's voice, 
Returning from his ways ; 
Wliile angels in their songs rejoice, 
And cry, 'Behold he prays!' " 



PEATEE CHAEACTEEISTIC OF PIETY. 19 



Thus it may be said that the history of piety is the 
history of prayer. It evidently accompanied the 
accepted sacrifice of Abel, as he stood by his slain 
lamb, confessed his sin, and implored divine mercy. 
It must have been the breath of the spiritual life of 
the holy Enoch, during those three hundred years in 
which he " walked with God." For surely it was no 
silent walk; but a sweet, loving converse. It was the 
constant characteristic of Abraham, "the friend of 
God," who carried to his divine Friend all thoughts 
and plans for himself and for those he loved. Isaac 
and Jacob were praying men; and it v/as from this 
fact that the latter gained his immortal name of 
Israel — Prince of God; because by his urgent prayer 
he gained a victory, as one possessed of power like a 
prince. Moses had special power in this direction, 
and prevailed wonderfully in intercession for others. 
Samuel was noted for the same trait, and when he re- 
signed his judgeship, the people made it their parting 
request, that he would not cease to pray for them. 
David was always on his knees, if we may judge from 
his psalms; which are as much prayers as praises, and 
in one of which he describes his own habit as follows : 
" Evening and morning and at noon will I pray, and 
cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice." His faith in 
this for all men, as well as for himself, led him to say: 
" O Thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh 
come." Elijah, the petitioner, is as famous as Elijah, 
the reprover and reformer; so that in the far away 
time of the E'ew Testament church, he could be held 



20 



PKAYEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 



up as an example and encouragement in prayer, by 
James, who, in illustration of his assertion, " that 
the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avail- 
eth much," said: "Elias was a man subject to like 
passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it 
might not rain, and it rained not on the earth (the 
land where he lived) for the space of three years and 
six months; and he prayed again, and the heavens 
gave rain, and the ea.rth brought forth her fruit." To 
name no other Old Testament saint, Daniel will stand 
forever associated with a willing martyrdom, so to 
speak, in behalf of this duty and privilege, as will 
his deliverance ever be a monument of its power. 

The l^ew Testament saints kept the same character- 
istic. One of the earliest personages in the history 
is the aged Anna, of whom it is said that " she de- 
parted not from the temple, but served God with 
fastings and prayers, night and day." The " devout " 
Simeon was of kindred spirit, as were Zacharias and 
Elizabeth, and Joseph and Mary. Jesus not only 
taught his disciples to pray, and himself offered peti- 
tions publicly, on various recorded occasions, but 
sometimes he spent whole nights in prayer, alone upon 
the mountain tops, or in the wilderness; and it w^as 
with praying breath that he expired upon the cross. 
The testimony borne concerning the thousands of con- 
verts made on the day of Pentecost is: "They con- 
tinued steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine and fellow- 
ship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." The 
apostles themselves prayed for ten days, steadily, prior 



PEAYEE CHAEACTEEISTIC OF PIETY. 21 



to that scene of wonders; and in every new trial or 
difficulty which occurred, we read of their uniting in 
solemn petition for divine aid. Paul, the last and 
greatest of the apostles, was full of the spirit of sup- 
plication; and not only does the book of Acts contain 
references to striking occasions on which he prayed, 
as for instance in the prison at Philippi, and the part- 
ing scene at Miletus, but his epistles constantly allude 
to the earnestness and frequency of his prayers for 
individuals and churches in whom he felt a special 
interest, and abound in commands and exhortations to 
Christians to pray in turn for him, and to maintain 
the habit of prayer " without ceasing." 

The history of the Church since the apostolic period 
has presented a similar aspect. Prayer has held a 
prominent place in public worship, and has been in- 
culcated and practiced as a private duty. Although 
it may be asserted, with some truth, that, at times, 
and with many individuals, this has been a mere form ; 
yet it may be replied, that even the preservation of the 
form shows the importance attached to the duty theo- 
retically, while to the spiritually-minded in every age 
it has been a precious reality. Hence we find, that 
in proportion to the devout character and spiritual 
earnestness of men, has been their reliance on prayer 
for advancement in holiness, and for success in their 
plans of life. This could hardly be otherwise when even 
the devout heathen had a right idea and practice on a 
point so fundamental ; for Plutarch wrote : " If we 
traverse the world, it is possibb to find cities without 



22 PEAYEK AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 



walls, without letters, without kings, without wealth, 
without coin, without schools and theaters; but a city 
without a temple, or that practiceth not worship, 
prayers and the like, no one ever saw." Christians 
have naturally made prayer the breath of their lives. 

Martin Luther, speaking of his own delighted use 
of the Lord's Prayer, wrote: "For to this day, I suck 
still at the Pater Noster^ like a child ; I eat and drink 
thereof like a fall grown man, and can never have 
enough." His custom in private was, to take its sep- 
arate petitions, one by one, and to enlarge upon them; 
and he says; "And so I have often learned more in 
one prayer, than I could have got from much reading 
and composing." It was said of him, that " he could 
have what he would of God." And, as we shall have 
occasion to see, it seemed literally so. One who had 
overheard Luther at prayer on a certain occasion, spoke 
with wonder of the deep earnestness with which he 
pleaded with God. His tones were reverent, as if he 
felt he was talking to his Maker; and yet he mani- 
fested the confidence of one who is conversing with a 
sympathizing friend. There was at one time, a crisis 
in the affairs of the reformation, when only faith could 
see cause for hope. Persecution had broken out with 
such power as to threaten to carry all before it. Friends 
were few and feeble; enemies were many, strong and 
exultant. But Luther did not waver. He remembered 
his own sublime hymn: 

"Ein feste burg ist unser Gott," 



PKAYER CHARACTERISTIC OF PIETT. 23 

(A strong fortress is our God) and sank upon his knees, 
that Omnipotence might como to the help of weak- 
ness. He wrestled alone with God in his closet, till, 
like Jacob, he had prevailed. Then he went into the 
room where his family were assembled, with joyous 
heart and shining face, and raising both hands, and 
lifting his eyes heavenward, exclaimed: "WehavG 
overcome! we have overcome!" It afterwards proved 
that just at that time, the Emperor Charles Y., issued 
his proclamation of religious toleration in Germany. 
ISTo doubt Luther had pleaded, in his prayer, the dec- 
laration of Scripture: " The king's heart is in the hand 
of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it 
whithersoever he will." Proverbs xxi: 1. 

As to John Calvin, Dr. Paul Henry, his biographer, 
says: "To characterize Calvin's holy disposition in a 
few words, I will direct attention to one of its most 
remarkable signs, viz.. his child-like trust in God, and 
his invincible faith in prayer, which was his strength 
and daily resource, In the perilous circumstances of 
his life, and in his last hours, he constantly expressed 
the desire that his friends should pray for him and for 
every good thing." 

John Knox was famous for his earnest prayers. He 
was heard at the great crisis to plead: " Give me Scot- 
land or I die;" and Queen Mary said that she feared 
his prayers more than she did all the armies of Europe. 
And this seemed a curious presentiment; for one night, 
in the bloody times of persecution, as he and several 
friends were praying together, Knox spoke out and 



24 PRAYEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 

declared that deliverance had come, though he could 
not tell how. The next news was that " Bloody Mary " 
was dead. 

Zuinglius, the Swiss reformer, was also a man 
mighty in prayer, and he laid the heavy burden which 
he was trying to bear, upon the Head of the Church, * 
in these words: " O Jesus, thou seest how the wicked 
and the blasphemous stun thy people's ears with their 
clamors. Thou knowest how, from my youth up, I 
have abhorred controversy, and yet, against my will, 
thou hast never ceased to impel me to the conflict. 
Therefore do I call upon thee with confidence to finish 
what thou hast begun! If in anything I have builded 
unwisely, let thy hand of power cast it down. If I 
have laid any other foundation beside thee, let thy 
mighty arm overturn it. O thou vine, full of sweet- 
ness, to whom the Father is the husbandman, and we 
are the branches, abandon not thy tendrils. Hast thou 
not promised to be with us unto the end of the 
world?" 

Melanchthon so prized prayer, that he feared to lose 
anxieties, lest he should lose the blessed relief of 
prayer. He said: If I had no anxieties, I should 
lose a powerful incentive to prayer; but when the cares 
of life impel to devotion, the best means of consola- 
tion, a religious mind cannot do without them. Thus 
trouble impels me to prayer, and prayer drives away 
trouble." 

In Gustavus Adolphus we have not only a sag: c- 
ious king and successful general, but a man of prayer. 



PEAYEK CHAEACTEEISTIC OF PIETY. 25 

"When he was in camp before Werben, on one occasion, 
he had remained alone in his private apartment for 
some hours, and at snch seasons his attendants were 
not allowed to disturb him. At length, however, a 
favorite, who had something important to communi- 
cate, presumed to look in the door, softly, and found 
the king on his knees. Gustavus called him in, and 
said; " Thou wonderest to see me in this posture, who 
have so many thousands of subjects to pray for me ; but 
I tell thee that no man has more need to pray for 
himself than he who, having to render an account of 
his actions to none but God, is, for that reason, more 
closely assaulted by the Devil, than all other men 
besides." 

The venerated Eev. Philip Henry, the father of 
Matthew -Henry, the commentator, was a specially 
godly man. In his life it is said: " He and his wife 
constantly prayed together, morning and evening." 
We are told, also, that he made a conscience of family 
worship, and abounded in it. He said to his children 
and friends; "Be sure you look to your secret duty; 
keep that up, whatever you do ; the soul cannot pros- 
per in the neglect of it. Apostacy generally begins 
at the closet door." As to family worship he would 
say ; " If the worship of God be not in the home, 
write, ' Lord, have mercy on us ' on the door, for there 
is a plague, a curse in it." 

Rev. Samuel Eutherford, the pious Scotch minister, 
in the days of persecution for the sake of the " Cove- 
nant," was said to be "always praying, always 
2 



26 



PEAYES AND ITS SEMAEBAJBLE AJSTSWEES. 



preaching, always visiting the sick, always catechising, 
always writing and studying." When settled at Ans- 
worth, he was constantly praying as well as laboring 
.for his people; so that he says: "There I wrestled 
with the angel and prevailed. Woods, trees, mead- 
ows and hills are my witnesses that I drew on a fair 
match betwixt Christ and Answorth." 

President Jonathan Edwards, at the beginning of 
his Christian life, adopted this resolution : Resolved^ 
Yery much to exercise myself in this all my life long; 
viz., with the greatest openness of which I am capa- 
ble, to declare my ways to God, and lay open my soul 
to him; all my sins, temptations, difficulties, sorrows, 
fears, hopes, desires, and everything and every cir- 
cumstance." " He made a secre't of his private devo- 
tions," observes Dr. Hopkins, one of his biographers, 
"and therefore they cannot be particularly known; 
though there is much evidence that he was punctual, 
constant and frequent in secret prayer, and often kept 
days of fasting and prayer in secret, and set apart 
times for serious, devout meditations on spiritual and 
eternal things as part of his religious exercises in 
secret. It appears from his diary that his stated sea- 
sons of secret prayer were, from his youth, three times 
a day, in his journeys as well as at home. He was, as 
far as can be known, much on his knees in secret, and 
in devout reading of God's word and meditation upon 
it. And his constant, solemn converse with God in 
these exercises of secret religion, made his face to 
shine, as it were, before others." 



PEAYER CHARACTEEISTIC OF PIETT. 



27 



The Rev. David Brainerd has, for more than a cen- 
tury, been a model of Christian earnestness and 
missionary devotion. In the memoir written by 
President Edwards, it is said: "Though he was of a 
very sociable temper, and loved the company of saints, 
and delighted very much in religious conversation, 
and in social worship, yet his warmest affections, and 
their greatest effects on his animal nature, and his 
sweetest joys, were in his closet devotions and solitary 
transactions between God and his own soul; as is very 
observable through his whole course, from his conver- 
sion to his death. He delighted greatly in secret 
retirements, and loved to get quite away from all the 
world, to converse with God alone in secret duties." 
Again it is said: "How sensible was he of his own 
insufficiency for this work, and how great was his 
dependence on God's sufficiency! How solicitous that 
he might be fitted for it; and to that end, how much 
time did he spend in prayer and fasting, as well as 
reading and meditation; giving himself to these 
things Again: "Among all the many days he 
spent in secret fasting and prayer, of which he gives 
an account in his diary, there is scarcely an instance 
of one which was not either attended or soon followed 
with apparent success, and a remarkable blessing, in 
special influences and consolations of God's Spirit; 
and very often before the day was ended. But it 
must be observed that, when he set about this duty, 
he did it in good earnest, ^ stirring up himself to take 
hold of God,' and ' continuing instant in prayer,' with 



$8 



TEATER AKD ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 



much of tlie spirit of Jacob, wlio said to the angel, ^ I 
will not let thee go, except thou bless me.' " 

Rev. E. M. McCheyne was so deeply impressed with 
this subject, that, as he made advance in piety, he 
drew up a paper to embody his improved purposes, in 
which he says: "I am persuaded- that I ought never 
to do anything without prayer, and, if possible, special 
secret prayer. ^ ^ ought to pray far more for 

our church, for our leading ministers by name, and for 
my own clear guidance in the right way, that I may not 
be led aside, or driven aside from following Christ. 
* * I should pray much more in peaceful days, 
that I may be guided rightly when days of trial come. 
I ought to spend the best hours of the day in com- 
munion with God. It is my noblest and most fruit- 
ful employment, and is not to be thrust into any 
corner. The morning hours from six to eight are the 
most uninterrupted, and should be thus employed, if I 
can prevent drowsiness. A little time after break- 
fast might be given to intercession. After tea is my 
best hour, and that should be solemly dedicated to 
God, if possible." 

Eev. Thomas Arnold, D. D., who accomplished so 
noble a Christian, as well as literary work, at Eugby, 
showed his appreciation of prayer as one of the most 
important instrumentalities, by introducing a special 
prayer before the class which he taught, in addition 
to the general prayers of the whole school. His biog- 
rapher says: " On the morning on which he first used 
it, he said that he had been much troubled to find, that 



PKAYER CHAEACTEEISTIC OF PIETY. 29 

the change from attendance on the death-bed of one 
of the bojs in his house to the school- work, had been 
very great; he thought that there ought not to be 
such a contrast, and that it was probably owing to the 
school-work not being sufficiently sanctified to God's 
glory; that if it was made really a religious work, the 
transition to it from a death-bed would be slight; he 
therefore intended for the future to offer a prayer 
before the first lesson, that the day's work might be 
undertaken and carried on solely to the glory of God 
and their improvement — that he might be the better 
enabled to do his work." 

Among the heroes as well as the saints of the 
church must be counted Henry Martyn, whose ripe 
scholarship and many personal attractions adorned his 
arduous missionary life, whose fervent piety has kin- 
dled the devotion of thousands, and whose lamented 
and lonely death has stirred the sympathies of every 
reader of his memoir. The church of England has 
never produced a more beautiful character. His 
biographer bears this testimony of his habit of draw- 
ing near to God: ''As these extraordinary and seem- 
ingly contradictory qualities were not imparted to 
him but by the Spirit of God, so they were not 
strengthened and matured, but in the diligent use of 
the ordinary means of grace. Prayer and the Holy 
Scriptures were those wells of salvation out of which 
he drew daily the living water. Truly did he ' pray 
always, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit^ 
and watch thereunto with all perseverance.' " 



So PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 



Multitudes will thank God for the impetus given to 
their Christian lives by the memoir of James Brainerd 
Taylor, whose early death deprived the church of one 
who gave nnusual promise of becoming a successful 
minister. His biographer says: "The attentive reader 
has doubtless already observed that the great means 
by which Mr. Taylor made such distinguished attain- 
ments in piety were the Bible, as noticed before, and 
the throne of grace. He was remarkably a man of 
prayer. In secret devotions he had his consecrated 
place and fixed time; nor would he allow anything to 
interfere with this arrangement. And as he did him- 
self, so he exhorted others to do, ' have a fixed place 
and time for devotion.' " 

Harlan Page was a plain man, of humble, rural 
origin, and of only ordinary education; but his suc- 
cess in winning souls to Christ has made him an 
example and an encouragement to multitudes. He 
relied on prayer as the grand instrumentality of power 
in religious effort, and in his memoirs we read: " He 
expected success from God through the blessing of 
the Holy Spirit in answer to prayer. ^ ^ ^ He 
LOVED PRAYER. Bcsidcs praycrs at social meetings, 
with the families and individuals he visited, and on 
special occasions frequently recurring, he regularly 
not only conducted family worship, accompanied by 
singing, but every morning and evening prayed with 
his companion, as they retired and rose, and also 
poured out his heart to God alone in the closet.'' 

Another layman, I^^ormand Smith, Jr., a sketch of 



PRAYEE CHARACTEEISTIO OF PIETY 



31 



whose life, written by Rev. Dr. Joel Hawes, has been 
published by the American Tract Society, and whose 
piety and generosity are consequently widely known, 
is thus described: "The frequency with which he 
observed days of fasting and prayer has already been 
noticed. He was eminently a .man of prayer. He 
aimed every day, and in all things, to maintain a close 
and humble walk with God. It has been said by one 
who had the best means of knowing, that prayer 
seemed to be his meat and drink. It was his constant 
practice to rise 'before the family, and spend one or 
two hours by himself, before attending family duties. 
At noon, he had a season of prayer, and no company 
would prevent his retiring; as he would always excuse 
himself for a little while, that he might enjoy his 
accustomed converse with God. He usually attended 
some meeting in the evening, but always prayed 
before he went. He had a room expressly set apart 
for private devotion, and would never be disturbed in 
his retirement. ^ ^ ^ He had a place for prayer 
also in his store, and would often invite his brethren, 
when they came in, to unite v/ith him in prayer." 

Here let us pause, as one might write the biography 
of every Christian, were he to tell of all the men of 
prayer. Piety is prayer. 

Come to the morning-prayer; 
Come, let us kneel and pray: 
Prayer is the Christian pilgrim's staff, 
To walk with God all day. 



PEAYEK AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

At noon, beneath the Rock 

Of Ages, rest and pray; 

Sweet is that shelter from the heat, 

When the sun smites by day. 

At evening, shut thy door; 

Round the home-altar pray; 

And, finding there the house of God, 

At Heaven's gate close the day. 

When midnight veils our eyes, 
Oh, it is sweet to say, 
I sleep, but my heart waketh, Lord, 
With thee to watch and pray. 

— JamQ^ Montgomery. 



CHAPTEE II. 



WHAT TRUE PRATER IS. 

If one is to consider the question, whether God 
really answers prayer, he must have before his mind 
definite idea of what prayer is. Disputes arise fr<>m 
ignorance and mental confusion. Men differ about 
words, when they agree in the things. They also differ 
about things, when they agree in the words. There 
has been a great deal said about prayer, which lacked 
discrimination; and so the arguments for and against 
it have failed to convince. We should then define our 
ground distinctly, so that friend and foe may know 
precisely what we mean to cover by our assertions and 
our proofs. 

There are antagonists who will concede the value of 
prayer, if allowed so to define the act as to leave it a 
mere religious meditation. We never knew anybody 
who thought it worth his while to oppose religious medi- 
tation; perhaps, because men are not likely to take 
very much of it, pure and simple. And so there are 
philosophizing Christians, and even ministers, who 
timidly explain away prayer, till its substance is gone, 
and then think that they have accomplished wonders 
in behalf of religion, by showing that no objections can 

(33) 



34 



PEATEE AKD ITS EE3IAEKABLE AI^SWEES. 



be raised against so rational a theory. As little can 
any advantages be gained by it for practical piety. 
There is an equation; bnt it is 0=0! 

There would seem to be bnt one sure way of decid- 
ing what the true nature of prayer is, as an antecedent 
to ascertaining its value. It is vain to try to settle it 
by abstract speculation alone. Doubtless something 
is to be learned from " the nature of things," of which 
philosophers and theologians have so much to say. 
But in this particular case we shall make more pro- 
gress by studying the nature of God, as he has revealed 
it to us in his Word. Prayer has to do vrith God. 
On that all are agreed. How much it" has to do with 
him, and why, and how, are the disputed questions. 
He can tell us better than the philosophers can; for 
he knows himself, his creatures and his plans. He 
can tell, therefore, whether he has fitted prayer into 
his plans; and, if so, in what sense. And if he cer- 
tifies us of the fact, he can take care of the philosophy, 
whether we can or not. Xo human philosophy can 
destroy a fact. This is just as true in the moral world, 
as is the famous assertion of the physicists in their 
realm, that every atom of matter is indestructible, or 
that force is persistent. Let \is therefore rely princi- 
pally upon the Scriptures to tell us what prayer is. 
Fortunately that is a favorite topic with the inspired 
writers; for prayer enters largely into the divine 
promises and manifestations, and also into human 
experiences. And consequently prophecy and history 
are equally full of it. Commands and thanksgivings 



WHAT TEUE PKAYEE IS. 



35 



are fellow-witnesses to its nature. It will aid our 
object to consider the true idea of prayer as related to 
its nature, its source of power, and its metliod of 
answer. The first topic will alone occupy us in the 
present chapter. 

WJiat is the proper conception of prayer, as to the 
nature of the act? Is it a dealing with one's self, or 
with God; or, possibly, with both? Is it simply a 
devout contemplation of the divine character and 
works, though clothed in the garb of an address to 
God? Is it, as Eev. F. W. Kobertson asserts, only a 
submission of the human to the divine will; a saying 
merely, " ITot my will, but thine be done Or is it 
substantially and principally a cry of want, a petition 
for aid, a direct asking of God, for the purpose of 
receiving ? If the latter be the authentic view, there 
is something to be said, for or against it, in the mat- 
ter of answers: otherwise the subject of answers is an 
impertinence, and its discussion a waste of breath. 

The word prayer, both in scriptural and in popular 
usage, denotes a somewhat comprehensive exercise, 
throughout which there is a personal approach of the 
soul to God. It may be in connection with others, in 
public or family worship ; or it may be as an individ- 
ual and private act only. In either case, and whether 
the words be audibly repeated or silently thought, the 
man speaks with God, mind with mind, heart with 
heart. It is not mere meditation upon God, but a 
direct address to him. Man talks with God. So 
Abraham felt, when he said : " Behold now I have 



36 



PEATEK AI?D ITS REMAKKABLE ANSWEES. 



taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, who am but 
dust and ashes." Gen. xviii: 27. When a man comes 
thus to G-od he is in a complex state of mind ; that is, 
numerous thoughts crowd in, and various emotions 
are felt. Hence prajer divides itself naturally into 
parts, which give expression to these struggling exer- 
cises. Sometimes these occur in consecutive order, 
especially in the case of cultured minds and of public 
exercises; but more commonly they are intermingled, 
as one or another idea comes uppermost. These parts 
have been named Adoration, Confession, Thanks- 
giving, and Petition. 

With Adoration we usually commence our prayers, 
and express our sense of the divine majest}^ and glory. 
Thus Daniel began his prayer: O Lord, the great 
and dreadful (or awe-inspiring) God, keeping the cov- 
enant and mercy to them that love him and to them 
that keep his commandments." Dan. ix:4. When 
the persecuted apostles made their appeal, their first 
words were: "Lord, thou art God, which hath made 
heaven and earth and the sea, and all that in them is." 
Acts, iv:2j:. The Lord's Prayer also opens: "Our 
Father, w-hich art in heaven." By thus dwelling, for 
a moment, on God's presence, power, wisdom, holiness, 
condescension and love, and on his works of creation 
and providence, we pay him a due tribute of worship, 
fill our minds with a suitable reverence, and bring to 
thought precisely those considerations which prepare 
the mind for what is to follow^ in the prayer. In other 
words, we are made to realize with what kind of a 



WHAT TEUE PEAYER IS. 



37 



being we liave to do; how infinitely above us He is, 
in position and character, and how able and ready to 
meet our wants. 

Confession is naturally the next utterance. We 
pass from a thought of God to a remembrance of our 
own insignificance and vileness. His greatness 
reminds us of our littleness, while his purity stands 
in contrast with our sin. As we exalt him, so we 
abase ourselves. Truth demands it. It is the fit intro- 
duction to what further we have to say ; for it shows 
what has been our dependence upon divine aid and 
mercy in the past, and what it must be in the future. 
Abraham called himself " dust and ashes," as we have 
seen ; Job said, (vi : 5) ; " Behold, I am vile, what 
shall I answer thee " Isaiah exclaimed (vi : 5) ; Woe 
is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of un- 
clean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of un- 
clean lips ;" and Daniel added to the words before cited, 
" We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and 
have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by depart- 
ing from thy precepts; " and he continued thus to 
speak for some time. Confession is especially neces- 
sary, when the soul is burdened with a sense of guilt, 
and the main object of the prayer is to apply to God 
for forgiveness. Then the application for pardon is to 
be preceded by the frank, humble and penitent 
acknowledgment of the sins. One comes to God in 
such a matter, as he would to an injured or ofifended 
fellow man. No one would approach a person whom 
he had wronged, to ask a favor, without acknowledg- 



38 PKAYER AND ITS KEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 



ing his unwortliiness, confessing his misdeed, and 
imploring reconciliation. We can do no less in draw- 
ing near to God. 

The sonl is then prepared for Thanksgiving. How 
can it forget, or omit to rehearse, what God has 
already done for it; especially in view of the multitude 
of his mercies to one richly deserving his wrath? 
Hence we often notice, in perusing the Psalms — which 
are in large part prayers — that they begin with ascrip- 
tions of praise, which occupy many verses before we 
reach the expression of want and the request for aid. 
'Thus the ninth begins: "I will praise thee, O Lord, 
with my whole heart: I will show forth all thy mar- 
velous works." The seventy-third opens: "Truly 
God is good to Israel;" the eighty -fifth: ''Lord, thou 
hast been favorable unto thy land; " the one hundred 
and third: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that 
is within me bless his holy name;" and not a 
few are wholly occupied with thanks. So in David's 
prayer on the occasion of associating Solomon with 
him in the government, and the setting apart of 
treasures with which to build the temple, he 
broke out in this preliminary utterance of mingled 
thanksgiving and adoration: "Blessed be thou. Lord 
God of Israel, our father, for ever and ever. Thine, O 
Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and 
the victory and the majesty: for all that is in the heav- 
ens and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, 
O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both 
riches and honor come of thee, and thou reignest over 



WHAT TRUE PEAYEK IS. 



39 



all, and in tlij liand is power and might; and in thy 
hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto 
all. 'Now, therefore, onr God, we thank thee, and 
praise thy glorious name.'' 1 Chron. xxix : 10-13. It 
will also be remembered that J esus began one of the 
brief recorded prayers thus: I thank thee, O Father, 
Lord of heaven and earth" (Mat. xi:25); and that his 
prayer at the grave of Lazarus commenced, Father, 
I thank thee that thou hast heard me " (John xi: 41); 
and that Paul wrote to the Philippians (iv: 6): "Be 
careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and 
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be 
made known unto God." Probably one reason why 
our prayers are not more prevalent is, that we are not 
sufficiently thankful for what we have already received. 

And now the soul is prepared for Petition, which 
includes the asking of favors for ourselves, and inter- 
cession for others. This is the very heart of prayer, 
which is prompted by a sense of want. The man goes 
to God, not only to adore and praise, but also to peti- 
tion. Otherwise it would suffice for him to sing 
psalms and hymns. These have their delightful use 
and powerful influence, but do in no respect supersede 
prayer, which has the distinct office of asking aid for 
human weakness. No nation, however ignorant, has 
confounded two such distinct exercises, although the 
two acts may properly be associated. In prayer the 
adoration and praise are intended to prepare for the 
petition. They are the gateway to the edifice. They 
show us how to approach God, in order that we may 



PEATER AND ITS EEMARKABLE ANSWERS. 



draw near acceptably, and may state freely and fully 
all our wants. Such is the grand design of prayer as 
a divinely appointed means of securing needed aid. 

Here is where Rev. F. W. Kobertson, in his sermon 
on prayer, comes far short of the truth. Taking' for 
his guide a single expression of Jesus, in the experi- 
ence of agony in the garden, " J^ot as I will, but as 
Thou wilt," he resolves prayer into mere submission 
to the divine will, instead of simply recognizing sub- 
mission as one condition of acceptable prayer. He 
says : " All prayer is to change the will human into 
submission to the will divine." " Prayer is one thing, 
petition quite another." "The divine wisdom has 
given us prayer, not as a means whereby to obtain the 
good things of earth, but as a means whereby we learn 
to do without them ; not as a means whereby we escape 
evil, but as a means whereby we become strong to 
meet it." This is of the character of all half-truths; 
it is a view practically false and injurious. If gener- 
ally accepted, it would lead to a fatalistic passivity, 
instead of a resolute activity, and would end in the 
total disuse of prayer. Indeed, he accepted that con- 
clusion, for he remarks: "That life is most holy in 
which there is least of petition and desire, and most 
of waiting upon God." And in his misapprehension 
of the inference to be drawn from the exclamation of 
Jesus, before quoted, he says : " Practically, then, I say : 
Pray as He did, till prayer makes you cease to pray." 
This was said devoutly and earnestly, by a truly spirit- 
ual man; but by one, also, who looked at truths too 



WHAT TKUE PEATER IS. 



41 



exclusively in a subjective way, shrinking from their 
objective reality, and who also by temperament and 
disease inclined to the mystical side of religion. 

Mr. Robertson is by no means alone in this concep- 
tion of prayer. Apart from the magnetism of his 
influence over readers, and the speciousness of his quite 
too limited illustrations of petition to God, there is a 
disposition at present to concede too much to the 
objections of the philosophic skeptics, and to render 
prayer unobjectionable by making it almost objectless. 
Thus a valued ministerial friend, at the West, writes to 
the author : " My own mind looks more to prayer as a 
power for uplifting the spirit to divine communion, 
and so helping not so much to obtain what we may 
desire or want, as to bring us into perfect acquiescence 
with the order of Providence, and into obedience. 
Our Lord did not encourage those who sought for 
' signs and wonders.' ^ ^ ^ j trust your book will 
be guarded against giving countenance to sensational 
religion, for I think that is one of our modern weak 
points." Another able but eccentric minister at the 
East, writes : " I do not dare preach to my people that 
men ought always to pray, because they will get what 
they ask for.* My doctrine is, that ' men ought always 
to pray and not to faint,' whether their prayers are 
answered or not. And I deplore the tendency which 
would seem to exhort people to prayer as a short way 
of getting what they want. The true value of prayer 
is, that it stops people from wanting what they can't 
get." The wonder is, that such a theory is held by 
2* 



42 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 



one wlio is a disciple of him who taught his followers 
to " ask,'^ with the promise that they should " receive," 
and not that they should stop wanting ; and who backed 
his instruction ''always to pray and not to faint," with 
the parable of the widow who obtained from the judge 
what she so importunately asked for, and added: 
" And shall not God avenge his own elect, who cry 
day and night unto him, though he bear long with 
them % " Thus, as Dr. Bushnell says, " Prayer becomes 
a kind of dumb-bell exercise — good as exercise, but 
not to be answered." Let the Savior's words be car- 
ried out in the various figures used, on this theory, 
and its absurdity becomes at once apparent. He bids 
us " ask." Imagine a child asking for some favor, or 
for the relief of some want, and standing, hour after 
hour, repeating his requests, and being told by the 
father: "Go on asking, my child; it does you much 
good to ask. The longer you ask, the more good it 
will do you. Do not expect to receive anything, how- 
ever, as the principal benefit of asking is that, and 
by, you will not want anything, and will cease to make 
any request." Jesus bids us "seek." Imagine a 
mother seeking a lost child. She looks through the 
house and along the streets, then searches the fields 
and woodsj and examines the river-banks. A wise 
neighbor meets her and says: "Seek on; look every- 
where; search every accessible place. You will not 
find, indeed; but then seeking is a good thing. It 
puts the mind on the stretch; it fixes the attention; 
it aids observation; it makes the idea of the child very 



WHAT TRUE PRAYER IS. 



43 



real. And then, after a while, yon will cease to want 
your child." The words of Christ are " Knock." 
Imagine a man knocking at the door of a house, long 
and loud. After he has done this for an hour, a 
window opens, and the occupant of the house puts out 
his head, and says: " That is right, my friend; I shall 
not open the door, but then keep on knocking. It is 
excellent exercise, and you will be the healthier for it. 
Knock away till sundown, and then come again and 
knock all to-morrow. After some days thus spent, 
you will attain to a state of mind in which you will no 
longer care to come in." Is this what Jesus intended 
us to understand, when he said: ''Ask, and ye shall 
receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be 
opened unto you"? 'No doubt one would thus soon 
cease to ask, to seek, and to knock; but would it not 
be from disgust? 

To see the error of such a view, one need only study 
nature, and the pages of the Bible, l^ature makes us 
feel the need of prayer, and the Bible teaches us how 
to pray. The fact is, that we are pressed on every 
side by imperious wants, the supply for which is 
only slightly within our own control. Often the exi- 
gency is great, and the relief must be speedy. In 
such an extremity, men have always betaken them- 
selves to God, in every age of the world, under all 
forms of religion. It is a primal and ineradicable 
instinct of human nature, and cannot lead astray. 
What it prompts to is petition to God. In that it is 
supported by all the analogies of experience. The 



4A: PEAYEE AXD ITS EE^AEKABLE ANSWESS. 

child is dependent on the parent, and goes daily and 
honrlr to its parent with requests for things needed. 
The subject is in many things dependent upon the 
ruler, and offers his petitions for requisite aid or 
relief God is felt to be the universal Father and Euler, 
and to him, therefore, his children and subjects natu- 
rallj go with prayers for assistance in life's necessi- 
ties. If it be replied that God does not need to be 
informed of our wants, or urged to do us good, as do 
earthly parents and rulers; we answer, that to impart 
information and incline to compassion are not the only 
reasons for petition in these latter cases, and need not 
be any reason in the case of God. There may be 
abundant other ground why a parent should encour- 
age a child to ask help, and why a ruler should be 
pleased when the people send in respectful petitions ; 
as we shall see in the next chapter. And so, doubt- 
less, it is in relation to God. 

But why rest upon general reasoning and analogy, 
when the Bible makes the matter perfectly clear ? l^o 
one not morbidly possessed by a theory which destroys 
his mental vision, can fail to see that in the Bible, 
from Genesis to Eevelation, prayer means simply peti- 
tion. It is not merely submittino' in io^norance to 
whatever God may choose to send: but it is asking 
him, reverently and in a childlike way, to send specific 
things felt to be pressingly needed. This is plain from 
the commands, from the promises, from the prayers 
and from the answers; all of which are placed on 
reco^'d for our instruction. 



WHAT TEUE PEATER IS. 



45 



JesTis commanded liis disciples to pray for specific 
blessings, and not merely to submit themselves to the 
will of God in general; and the Lord's Frajer, which 
he gave as a model, contains seven distinct petitions. 
Again we read: ^'He spake a parable unto them, to 
this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to 
faint." Luke xviii : 7. And the parable was that of the 
importunate widow, who had a specific request which 
she urged, and urged, and urged, without ceasing, till 
it was granted. Similar is the command of Paul, 
already cited: "Be careful (or anxious) for nothing, 
but in every thing by prayer and supplication, with 
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto 
God." Phil, iv : 6. This directs us to make particular 
requests, as the precise thing which God wishes us 
to do. 

The promises state the same truth, or carry the im- 
plication. Instead of reading: Submit, and all things 
shall be done for you, we read: "Ask and ye shall 
receive; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be 
opened unto you; for everyone that asketh receiveth, 
and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh 
it shall be opened." Then the analogy which nature 
suggests, Jesus positively endorses: "What man is 
there of you who, if his son ask bread, will give him 
a stone, or if he ask a fish, will give him a serpent?" 
Matt, vii : 7-11. 'No language could more plainly 
authorize specific requests. Take, further, such prom- 
ises as these: "Call upon me in the day of trouble; 
I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." Ps. 



46 PEAYER mi> ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

1 : 15. "If I slint up heaven that there be no rain; 
or if I command the locnsts to devour the land; or if 
I send pestilence among my people; if my people, 
which are called by my name, shall humble themselves 
and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked 
ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive 
their sin, and wilt heal their land." 2 Chron. vii : 13, 
14. "And. all things whatsoever ye shall ask in 
prayer, believing, ye shall receive." Matt, xxi : 22. 
" And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, 
we know that we have the petitions that we desired of 
him." 1 John v : 15. If prayer is submission, but 
not request, what do such words mean ; words which 
encourage us to ask of God specific relief for the par- 
ticular evils which at the time are distressing us? 

Let us pass, then, to the prayers on record in Scrip- 
ture, which were acceptably offered, and observe 
whether the good men only asked to be made submis- 
sive to the divine will, whatever that might prove to 
be; or whether they ventured to mention the things 
which they desired, not imagining that to ask for and 
expect them, was unsubmissive in spirit. And with 
these let us note also the answers which were returned. 
Take the case of Jesus himself, to whom Mr. Eobert- 
son makes particular reference. Kis prayer in the 
garden was conditionally made, with submission to 
the Father's will; but it was yet a specific request — 
" Let this cup pass from me." And so, at the grave 
of Lazarus, he asked for the one thing then desired, 
and said, " Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard 



WHAT TKUE PEATER IS. 4T 

me, and I knew that tlion hearest me always " — words 
which obviously mean that God was accustomed to 
grant him the particular requests which he made. 
Daniel tells us (chapter ix) of his anxiety to know of 
the divine purpose as to the return of the Jews from 
the captivity at Babylon, and that he made it the sub- 
ject of special prayer and fasting; whereupon an 
angel was sent to give him the exact information 
desired. When he was cast into the den of lions, 
because of his faith in prayer to Jehovah, he made 
petition for safety, and God granted just what he 
asked, and shut the mouths of the lions, David 
prayed repeatedly for deliverance from the hands of 
King Saul, and afterwards from that of his parricidal 
son, Absalom, and received the very blessings for 
which he prayed. When Peter was cast into prison, 
and lay there under sentence of death, we are told that 
" prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto 
God for him." What they prayed for was, that, in 
some way, Peter might be saved; and God granted 
that very thing. And so it was in cases without 
number. What men wanted they asked for, and when 
they asked aright, and for things truly needed, God 
granted them. Prayer is thus seen to be in its nature 
petition, and not merely meditation, or worship, or 
submission. The experience of all saints is like that 
of Hannah. She had in her heart one all absorbing 
desire, which she silently expressed to God, in the 
presence of Eli, who said, " Go in peace, and the God 
of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked 



48 peatEe akd its eemaekable answees. 

of him;" and eventually she stood again before the 
venerable high priest, and said: "O mj lord, as thy 
soul liveth, n^y lord, I am the woman that stood by 
thee here, praying unto the Lord. For this child I 
prayed, and the Lord hath given me my petition which 
I asked of him." 1 Sam. i: IT, 26, 27. Prayer is 
then an application to God to relieve human want. 

Lord, wliat a change within us one short hour 
Spent in thy presence, will prevail to make ! 
What heavy burdens from our bosoms take, 
What parched grounds refresh, as with a shower ! 
We kneel, and all around us seems to lower ; 
We rise, and all, the distant and the near, 
Stands forth in sunny outline, brave and clear. 

We kneel how weak, we rise how full of power ! 
Why, therefore, should we do ourselves this wrong, 
Or others, that we are not always strong ; 
That we are ever overborne with care ; 
That we should ever weak or heartless be, 
Anxious or troubled ; when with us is prayer, 
And joy and strength and courage are with thee? 

—M. G, Trench, 



CHAPTEE III. 

WHY PBATEU PREVAILS. 

Haying ascertained that as to its object, the nature 
of prayer is petition, and that it is therefore suscepti- 
ble of an answer, it is important to inquire next for 
the principle upon which it produces its effect. "Why 
does prayer prevail? To what is it indebted for its 
power? How can it possibly operate on God, to 
induce him to do that which otherwise he would not 
do ? If his power is almighty, it will be said that he 
has the ability to reach us, nor must ask our consent. 
If his knowledge is complete, then He needs no infor- 
mation from our prayers as to what are our necessi- 
ties. If his character is perfect, his benevolence 
requires no prompting to undertake our relief. And 
if his plan is all-comprehending, he has already pro- 
vided for our wants, and our petitions are useless. 
How is it possible, then, for prayer to prevail without 
arguing imperfection in God? What principle of 
explanation is suggested by reason and Scripture? 

These are natural questions to an inquiring mind, 
and we are not left without a legitimate reply. We 
are to dismiss, at the outset, the crude idea of early 
ages and of heathen nations, in which God is not 
only conceived of in a human manner — which in a 
o (49) 



50 PHAYEK AND ITS EE2J[ARKABLE ANSWESS. 



degree is necessary and appropriate — but is repre- 
sented as having human limitations and imperfections. 
The Bible rebukes such a degradation of the Deity. 
Thus the worshipers of Baal thought that their prayers 
would attract the attention of their unheeding god, 
and so Elijah mocked their loud cries, ironically say- 
ing: " Cry aloud, for he is a god [and ought therefore 
to help you, if his attention can be gained] ; either he 
is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is on a journey, or 
perad venture he sleepeth and must be awaked." 1 
Kings, xviii : 27. Evidently the prophet meant to deny 
that such or any kindred hindrances characterized 
Jehovah, the true God. There are people who think 
that there is a merit in prayer, which in some manner 
brings God into our debt, and obliges him to grant 
that which we need ; or at least that the act so pleases 
him that he is persuaded to be complaisant to our 
wishes. Hence great faith is placed in. the number 
of prayers, and the heathen resort to a praying 
machine turned by wind or water, to the wheel of 
which written prayers are attp.ched; while the Roman- 
ists repeat, with breathless haste, Pater Wasters and 
Ave Marias^ keeping count upon the beads of a rosary! 
But the Bible denies human merit, and Jesus said: 
" Yy^hen ye pray, use not vpJn repetitions as the heathen 
do; for they think that they shall be heard for their 
much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them, 
for your Father knoweth what thiugs ye have need of 
before ye ask ITim." Mat. vi : 7, 8. 

The Bible emphasizes everywhere the divine oranis-^ 



WHY PEAYER PEEVAILS, 



51 



eience, and will not allow that our prayers aiford God 
the least information. Therefore, in the same dis- 
course Jesus reaffirms this truth, saying: "Your 
heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all 
these things," (Mat. vi : 32,) and makes that fact the 
basis of his exhortation not to be anxious about food, 
or drink, or clothing. And equally explicit is the 
Bible as to the comprehensiveness of the divine plan; 
that it includes all things. " For of him and through 
him and to him are all things," writes Paul, who 
also affirms that " we know that all things work 
together for good to them that love God." Eom. x: 36, 
and viii : 28. And yet the writers of Scripture, while 
thus teaching, as strenuously as does any modern 
philosopher, the perfection of the divine power, 
knowledge, character and plans, urge with equal free- 
dom and emphasis, the duty and privilege of prayer. 
Plainly they think that it is a provision required 
rather than excluded by his perfection, and therefore 
embraced in the scope of his plan; which is precisely 
the truth in the case. 

To understand this, we must call to mind the cir- 
cumstances in which God is acting. He is carrying 
forward a moral government; which involves the train- 
ing and control of free, rational and sensitive beings, 
by the influence of perceived and appreciated truth. 
The principal truth which they need to know and 
appreciate, pertains to his own nature and character. 
In this respect he is situated as is the father of a 
family ; and he has instituted the earthly family that 



52 PKAYEE AND ITS EEMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

in it we may gain those initial ideas and that prelim- 
inary training which will fit us to understand and 
trust him. What a human father needs is, to gain 
the confidence and love of his children, and to pro- 
duce in them a sense of their dependence, and of his 
desire to promote their best welfare. Is it not, then, 
quite conceivable that he should take pains to use 
methods which will promote as free an intercourse as 
possible between him and the children? And would 
anything conduce more surely to this end than to 
encourage them to ask him for every needed supply, 
even when he already knew the state of the case, and 
was ready to bestow aid? For the thing to be gained 
is an impression upon their, minds of his power, wis- 
dom and love, so that they shall delight to obey him. 
This is even more important than the specific supply 
of their wants, which he could provide for otherwise. 
The mode of supply may thus transcend in value the 
fact of supply. 

Transfer this simple conception, with which the 
whole world is familiar, to the relation of God and 
his human children, and the philosophy of prayer, as 
regards its moral principle, is at once explicable. We 
are God's children; but he is invisible, and our knowl- 
edge of him is small. Yet that which of all things is 
most important for our well being is to know him; 
for on him are we unspeakably more dependent than 
children are upon an earthly parent, and God has so 
made us, that the perfection of our being and of our hap- 
piness is to arise from knowing, loving, trusting and 



WHY PSAYEE PREVAILS. 



53 



enjoying Mm. Hence tlie emphatic language of 
Jesus: "This is life eternal, that they might know 
thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou 
has sent." John xvii: 3. But how shall every human 
soul be brought into free, personal intercourse with the 
invisible Father, so that childlike faith and loving 
obedience shall be developed? How shall this be made 
a power so permanent and so available at all times, 
as to be a perpetual moral education? By instituting 
prayer, as the grand source of religious impression, 
and of needed comfort and help, and by making it, to 
a large extent, a condition of obtaining special divine 
aid. One cannot conceive of a device more simple, 
and yet more potent for gaining the great end of divine 
manifestation and human impression. 

For, consider its necessary effect. It bases itself on 
a natural instinct to look for aid to some friendly 
superior power. And to what power should the 
dependent creature apply, if not to its Creator? It 
keeps before the mind the thought of his omnipres- 
ence, of his knowledge, and of his all-sufficiency. It 
implies his uninterrupted connection with earthly 
affairs; the universality and particularity of his prov- 
idence; or, as Jesus phrased it, "Are not two spar- 
rows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not 
fall on the ground without your Father. But the very 
hairs of your head are all nambered." Mat. x: 29, 30, 
It presents God as a loving parent, who sympathizes 
with our sorrows; who understands, better than we 
ourselves do, our circumstances; who has power and 



54 PEAYEE AND ITS EEMAEKA.ELE ANSWEES. 

"wisdom to help our right endeavors and extricate us 
from peril ; and who shows tender mercy to our many 
weaknesses and sins. In other words, he is the very 
helper we need, at all times. 'Now the soul that re- 
cognizes this fact, and acts upon the invitation to pray, 
is certain to live, as it were, in a divine atmosphere ; to 
be kept continually in reverential, humble, trustful, 
grateful thought of God and realization of his pres- 
ence. The act of prayer is more solemn and impres- 
sive than any other form of religious exercise; the 
approach to God is so personal and direct. One calls 
up the highest and grandest conceptions of the Deity 
in the words of adoration, the most abasing views of 
himself in those of confession, the most touching and 
endearing recollections in those of thanksgiving, and 
the profoundest sense of dependence in those of peti- 
tion. Surely nothing else can make God stand forth 
with such reality before the mind, or can bring him 
into such intimate communion with our souls. And 
true prayer is an exercise which more than any other 
tends to its own reproduction, or repetition, as the soul 
increasingly feels its need, and has experience of the 
benefit of appeal to God. Thus, at length, it becomes 
a habit, a state of mind, an abiding rest in God; which 
is the very end which God seeks, and to which a cre- 
ated spirit must be brought for its highest good. And, 
as prayer is one of the simplest of acts, it is within the 
reach of children and of the most ignorant adults, and is 
thus adapted to a universal moral training. 

It is thus evident that prayer may prevail with God 



4 



WHY PEAYEE PEEVAILS. 55 

hj reason of its fulfilling, on the part of man, a neces- 
sary moral condition, wliicli God wisely requires. He 
needs no information; nor any coaxing or persuasion 
to rouse his benevolence and induce him to come to 
our aid. But he ought to see us in a proper position 
of humility, faith and love, before he gratifies our 
desires, and he appoints prayer as the means of bring- 
ing us into that position. This shows his wisdom as 
a moral ruler; and a very great defect would have been 
manifest in his scheme of training, had He omitted 
prayer, and left us to a bare use of the laws of nature 
according to our imperfect understanding of them. 
For, in that case, he would have withheld needed help 
and would have shut us up to mere mechanical influ- 
ences, which would have been only slightly operative 
on character; whereas now we have larger hope and 
we come into vital, warm, personal contact, such as 
gives us an immediate impression of himself. More- 
over, by annexing such a condition to his gifts, God 
not only brings us into a position honorable to him, 
and wise for us, as a condition precedent to the 
bestowal of desired favors, but he also secures in us 
such a state of mind as makes the blessings bestowed 
tenfold more valuable; their incidental efiect being 
worth far more than the direct. 

We are thus brought to the most rational conclusion, 
that God has deliberately, wisely, and from the begin- 
ning, made prayer a part of the plan of the universe. 
Far from contravening that plan, it simply fulfills it. 
Instead of changing the divine will, it thoroughly car- 



56 PEATEK AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

ries it out. Instead of violating law, it complies with 
that law which is highest, as having sweep in the 
highest or moral realm ; only, according to universal 
analogy, subordinating the lower laws of lower realms. 
Thus we see chemical law overruling mechanical law, 
and vital law overruling both mechanical and chemical 
law, and the law of the moral universe overruling that 
of the physical universe. For when we talk of God's 
laws and plan, we must not pause at the bottom of his 
system, or busy ourselves merely with the scaffolding 
of his structure. Matter is made for the use of mind, 
and the material universe is only a platform and an 
agency for the spiritual. And thus, as God has made 
gravity a law in one realm, he has made prayer a law 
in a higher realm, and it is even greater folly to ignore 
the latter than the former. And so it is no more true 
that God is a Creator of worlds, than it is that he is a 
Hearer of _ Prayer. 

More things are wrought by prayer 
Than this world dreams of. Wherefore let thy voice 
Rise like a fountain for me night and day. 
For what are men better than sheep or goats, 
That nourish a blind life within the brain, 
If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer, 
Both for themselves and those who call them friend ! 
For so the whole round earth is every way 
Bound by gold chains about the feet of G-od. 

— Tennyson, 



C5APTEE lY. 



THE METHOD OF THE ANSWER. 

Yaeioijs have been the explanations given of the 
manner in which prayer receives its answer. How 
does God bestow the blessing desired? Is the answer 
to be regarded as supernatural, or natural? Are an- 
swers to prayers miracles? When a Christian asks 
something at the hand of God, does he virtually re- 
quest God to work a miracle for his benefit? Or has 
God natural channels of communication with this 
world, through which he can secure for his people that 
which they need and for which they pray? One can- 
not avoid meeting these questions, when handling the 
subject of answers to prayer. 

The simplest explanation offered is that of Rev. F. 
W. Robertson, who, with many others that stand in 
unwholesome fear of skeptical scientists, propounds the 
theory of mental reaction. This is a logical inference 
from his notion of the nature of prayer as only a med- 
itation on God and a submission to his will. He asks, 
" Does prayer change the outward universe, or does it 
alter our inward being? Does it work on God, or 
does it work on us? He answers these questions in 
favor of the latter alternative; and how little he en- 
courages the idea of our receiving any actual bestow- 

(57) 



68 PEATER ANT) ITS EEMAEKABLE AJSISWKES. 



ment in answer to our petition, is seen from liis re- 
mark, that, it would be a strange family, where the 
child's will dictates: bnt it would be also strano-e 
where a child may not, as a child, express its foolish 
wish, if it be only to have the iu^possibility of grati- 
fying it ex]3lained." He asks also, increduouslj, 
" Whether the good derived has been exactly this, that 
prayer brought them the very thing wished for?" His 
idea of the manner in which prayer is answered, is that 
the effect comes ''in moderatino^ om- wish: in chans^- 
ing the passionate desire into still submission, the 
anxious, tumultuous expectation into silent surrender." 
He also states, "And so, in the expectation of impend- 
ing danger, our prayer has won the victory, not when 
we have warded off the trial, but when like him 
(Jesus) we have learned to say, ' arise, let us go to meet 
the evil.'" 

This is the view of some of the physical philoso- 
phers, who allow a certain value to prayer in the spir- 
itual realm, though even there, wholly of a reflex 
action. The answer to prayer is but a self-answer. 
It has no divine element. The effect is only liturgical 
and amounts to a self-magnetising. The form of 
prayer being that of petition to God, they talk of an 
answer, yet strangely allow no agency of God in the 
matter. The manner of the answer, they say, is this: 
the soul comes before God with a burden of grief, or 
of desire, or of fear, and expresses itself freely, bring- 
ing to mind his greatness, wisdom and love, to which 
facts it constantly returns for comfort. Thus, after a 



THE METHOD OF THE ANSWER. 59 

time, having relieved itself by words, and having be- 
come reminded that God's will mnst be right, and will 
and ought to be done, it goes away in such a re^^erent, 
humble and trustful frame, as to acquire new strength 
for duties and trials. God has done nothing, and will 
do nothing, because of the prayer. The man has 
simply meditated aloud, throwing his thoughts into 
the form of petition, and his mind has received a re- 
flex impression from the truths which were thus called 
up; much as if he had been reading or conversing 
upon similar topics. He has had a devotional exer- 
cise spiritually elevating. 

The difficulty with the whole theory is, that it fails 
to cover the facts. It starts with an erroneous limit- 
ation to the petitioner and to spiritual results, denying 
effect on others and any physical effect on him, except 
as the body may share through the nervous system in 
the reaction of the mind. Yet nothing is more abund- 
antly capable of proof, than that prayer works results 
beyond the individual himself, both in the physical 
and in the spiritual world, as the subsequent chapters 
of this volume will show. It is not true, as Mr. 
Robertson declares, that prayer never removes the trial, 
but only gives strength to bear it. There are, indeed, 
many cases in which God does not see fit to remove 
the trial — as in the case of Paul's thorn in the flesh 
— and then the submissive and conditional prayer is 
answered by the bestowment of gracious divine aid 
through the Holy Spirit, and not by mere natural rea(v 
tion ot the mind ; as the apostle distinctly teaches. 2 



60 



PRAITEK Amy ITS EEMAEKABLE A3!TSWEKS. 



Cor. xii: 7-9. But the Bible is full of prayers offered 
for specific deliverance of an outward character, and the 
answers came in outward effects wrought in nature 
and in men. Such was the answer to Jacob's 23rayer 
for deliverance from his angry brother, Esau; to Da- 
vid's many prayers to be saved from the hand of Saul; 
to HezeMah's prayer after the insulting threats of 
Sennacherib; to the prayer of Daniel for preservation 
in the den of lions; and to the prayer of the Jerusa- 
lem Church for the escape of Peter. There was no 
answer in the mere refiex manner, in such cases. And 
if it should be said that those were exceptions, in the 
days of miracles; we reply that no miracles were 
wrought to prevent Esau and Saul from carrying out 
their murderous threats, while yet the prayed for event 
was secured accordins' to Dromise; and that similar 
instances of success in prayer, and that too, in connec- 
tion with other persons than the petitioners, occur 
daily at the present time. 

Moreover, it is to be noticed, and Mr. Eobertson as 
a Chi'istian minister should have given great weight 
to the fact, that, even in spiritual results secured in 
the mind of the one who prays, there is a supernatu- 
ral power involved, over and above the natural refiex 
action of the prayer as a devotional exercise. The 
promise of the Comforter is to that very end; and 
this gift is declared to be the one which God is spec- 
ially willing to bestow for our enlightenment, comfort 
and sanctification. And at the day of Pentecost, the 
marvelous effects, on friends and foes, of a ten days' 



THE METHOD OF THE ANSWEE. 



61 



prayer meeting, are ascribed not to a reflex influence 
of the praying, on the apostles and others assembled 
with them, but to the descending power of the Holy 
Ghost. Paul also said that his ability to endure the 
thorn in the flesh' was by "grace" received, and be- 
cause "the power of Christ rested upon " him. 

Furthermore, a fatal objection to the Eobertsonian 
theory is, that it is suicidal. The moment it should 
come to be generally believed, prayer would cease! 
For the instinct to pray is connected with a conviction 
that God will in some way bestow the needed aid. 
Our necessities drive us to our knees, because we must 
have help out of ourselves, and we have faith that God 
hears prayer. 'Sow prayer does beyond question react 
favorably upon our own minds; but even this is 
because we are expecting som.ething far higher and 
more important, and are looking with reverence, peni- 
tence, gratitude and trust to a Heavenly Father, who 
actually listens to our petitions and sends the needed 
blessing. Destroy that conviction, persuade men that 
prayer has actually no influence on the divine will, 
and is not a condition of the divine action, and the 
chief motive to prayer is withdrawn. Tell them that 
they are only magnetizing themselves and going 
through a profitable devotional exercise, and they will 
conclude that meditating can as well be done in some 
other way; sitting as well as kneeling; reading as well 
as praying; silently as well as audibly. And, as we 
have seen, Mr. Robertson had a suspicion that such 
might be the final result, and hence we find him ques- 



62 



PKATES AND ITS EEMAKKABLE ANSWERS. 



tioning whether prayer be a dntj, and saying: Prayer 
then is a necessity of onr humanity, rather than a 
duty. To force it as a duty is dangerous. Christ did 
not; never commanded it, never taught it, till asked." 
He counts it only an initial thing in a Christian's expe- 
rience: " Hints are given us, which make it seem that a 
time will come, when spirituality shall be so complete, 
and acquiescence in the will of God so entire, that pe- 
tition shall be superseded." Not in this world will 
this be, we suspect, and possibly not in any world; 
though the command in the opposite direction to 
" pray without ceasing," may bring an abiding state 
of mind, which shall be itself a constant petition; by 
which God shall feel continually appealed to, to honor 
the faith placed in him and the request ever going up, 
by granting perpetual guardianship from evil, or per- 
petual grace to endure it. 

Rejecting, then, this insufficient statement of the 
manner in which prayer is answered — a statement 
which substitutes the incidental for the main effect, 
and confounds a single reason for prayer with its chief 
agency — we come back to the original question: By 
what method or agency does prayer receive its answer? 
In reply to this it is to be said, that so long as we can 
claim the reality of the answer, and God as its author, 
it is of no consequence whether we can trace the 
method, or not. A true philosophy reasons about 
this as about other phenomena. It is chiefly anxious 
to make sure of its facts. The facts here are, that pe- 
titions offered to God are heard j and that, in some 



THE METHOD OF THE ANSWER. 



63 



way, God arranges to bestow what is properly desired, 
or what will be its equivalent. If this is clearly taught 
in Scripture, and abundantly demonstrated by exper- 
ience, faith needs nothing more for its intelligent sup- 
port, and piety is furnished with every needed source 
of comfort and of courage. The curious may naturally 
ask by what methods God operates to secure the ob- 
ject for which prayer was offered, and it may add to 
knowledge, and thus to one's intellectual happiness, to 
learn something on that point: otherwise it is of no 
importance, and ignorance of the method cannot im- 
pugn the fact. 

"We do not know that God is shut up to any o^ 
method in this matter. He may work directly, or me- 
diately. He may himself use the system of second 
causes which he has established, much as we use it, 
only with a perfect understanding of its forces and a 
complete ability to employ them; or he may put in 
motion angelic and human agency, by some secret 
inspiration. The Bible unhesitatingly places all in- 
strumentalities at his disposal, and represents him as 
working back of visible agencies. There is truth as 
well as wit, in the oft repeated anecdote of the good 
man that, in his poverty, prayed for bread, and was 
overheard by a skeptic, who, as a joke, tossed in a loaf 
through the window. Thereupon the thankful receiver 
fell on his knees, and expressed his gratitude to God; 
and, when the skeptic laughed at him for this, and 
told him how the loaf came to be thrown in, shrewdly 



64 PEATER AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 



replied : " 'No matter ; God sent it, eyen if the devil 
brouglit it ! " 

The Bible recognizes various modes of divine action 
in answering prayer. In the olden time, when God 
was founding the true religion, and attesting it by 
signs, e^ddently supernatural, and intended to mani- 
fest his immediate presence and power, prayer ap- 
peared to be answered, on many occasions, by direct act 
of God: at least no other agency seemed to be em- 
ployed. It was so, when, at the prayer of Jesus, God 
raised Lazarus from the dead; when, at the request of 
the centurion, the servant was healed immediately 
and at a distance; and when, after the earnest entreaty 
oF Elijah, fire came down and consumed the sacrifice 
on Carmel. But, in other cases, God put natural 
causes into motion, to secure the desired end. Thus, 
when Moses prayed in behalf of Pharaoh, that the 
plague of the locusts might be removed, we read: 
"And he went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the 
Lord. And the Lord turned a mighty strong west 
wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into 
the Red Sea: there remained not one locust in all the 
coasts of Egypt." Ex. x: 18, 19. Subsequently, when 
the Israelites stood on the shore of the Red Sea, with 
the Egyptian army pressing up behind, and Moses 
prayed for deliverance, the record is : " The Lord said 
unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? Speak 
unto the children of Israel that they go forward. ^ ^ ^ 
And the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong 
east wind, all^ that night, and made the sea dry land, 



THE METHOD OF THE ANSWEK. 



65 



and tlie waters were divided." Ex. xiv: 15-21. And 
so, when Hezekiah was sick unto death, and prayed 
to be spared, the prophet Isaiah was sent to say: 
"Thus saith the Lord, the God of David, thy father; 
I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears ; behold 
I will add unto thy days fifteen years;" and afterwards 
we read: "For Isaiah had said. Let them take a lump 
of figs, and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he 
shall recover." Is. xxviii: 5-21. 

In yet other instances prayers were answered 
through the ministry of angels. Thus, when in the 
deadly agony of the garden, Jesus ofibred his condi- 
tional and submissive prayer to the Father for needed 
aid, we read: "And there appeared an angel unto 
him from heaven, strengthening him." Luke xxii:43. 
Similarly the record is, that when Daniel was preserved 
from the lions, in answer to prayer, he said to king 
Darius : " My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut 
the lions' mouths that they have not hurt me." Dan. 
vi:22. And in like manner, when Peter was saved 
from imminent death at the hand of Herod, in answer 
to the prayers of the church, we read: "And behold 
an angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light 
shined in the prison ; and he smote Peter on the side, 
and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And 
his chains fell from olf his hands. ^ ^ And he went 
out and followed him. ^ * ^ And they went out and 
passed on through one street ; and forthwith the angel 
departed from him." Acts xii: 7-10. So when Daniel 
prayed to be made to understand the prophecies about 

3^ 



66 



PEATER AXD ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 



liis people, his own account is: "And while I was 
speaking and praying, and confessing mv sin and the 
sin of mj people Israel, and presenting my supplica- 
tion before the Lord, my God, for the holy mountain 
of my God; yea, while I was speaking in my prayer, 
even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the yision, 
in the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched 
me about the time of the evening oblation. And he 
informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, 
I am now come forth to give thee skill and understand- 
ing." Dan. ix : 20-22. 

Yery commonly God has answered prayers through 
human agency. In ways past our present knowledge, 
he can touch the hearts of men, and incline their 
minds to do what is requisite for the good of his 
praying ones. As a general intimation of this it is 
written : The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord; 
as the rivers of water ; he turneth it whithersoever he 
will." Prov. xxi:l. Beautiful illustrations of this 
occur in the books of Ezra and Xehemiah. Daniel 
and other pious Jews had been praying, as we have 
seen, for a return of God's people from their captivity 
at Babylon, and for the rebuilding of the holy city and 
the temple, and these writers tell us how the prayers 
were answered thi'ongh Cyrus and other kings of 
Persia. Ezra opens with these words: "Xow, in the 
first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, that the word of 
the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, 
the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus," etc. Ezra i: 
1. And after reaching Jerusalem and rebuilding the 



THE METHOD OF THE ANSWEK. 



67 



house, amid many fears, and tears, and prayers, they 
dedicated it with joy; "for the Lord liad made them 
joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria 
unto them," (vi:22;) and Ezra wrote in his journal: 
" Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, y/hich hath 
put such a thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify 
the house of the Lord which is at Jerusalem." vii:28. 
Every one will recall the touching narrative of I^ehe- 
miah, as he tells (ii: 1-8,) how he longed to leave the 
court of Persia, where he was high in favor as the 
king's cup-bearer, and to go to J erusalem with author- 
ity to rebuild its prostrate walls ; and how he told the 
king what was the occasion of his sad face. " Then 
the king said to me. For what dost thou make re- 
quest? So I prayed to the God of heaven. ^ ^ ^ 
And the king granted me according to the good hand 
of my God upon me." 

These Scriptural illustrations will show how varied 
were the divine methods of answering prayer, 
anciently. God operated directly, through his own 
natural laws, by angels, and by men. The method 
was comparatively nothing. The fact which it was 
important to remember, and to act upon, was, that 
God ordered events in harmony with the prayers of 
his people. Of what account is it to us how he does 
this? There is no reason to suppose that he is any 
more limited in his methods now than of old; or that 
prayer is any the less a power with God, because we 
can ordinarily trace the second causes which he is 
pleased to use in granting our petitions. Unbelief on 



68 PEAYEE AND ITS EEM ASKABLE ANSWERS. 



siicIl a ground would be as irrational as for a child, 
who had asked a gift of his father, to doubt, when it 
was received, whether it had really come from him, 
because it was actually placed in his hand by another 
person, through whom the father had sent it. 

The reader will now appreciate the meaning and 
force of a letter which the author recently received 
from a minister of a church in Massachusetts, who 
wrote thus: "The Lord has answered my prayers as 
certainly and constantly as father or mother supplied 
my wants when a boy, at my request; and in such 
way that I could not fail to see the Lord's hand as .the 
gifts came out of it. Yet he has always done it as 
naturally as father and mother did it, and I suppose 
always will. I could tell you of a way opened to the 
ministry, in answer to prayer; of a life-partner so 
given; of horse and carriage, and saddle, etc., sent to 
me (though I paid for them); of fitting places of work 
made ready for me through the Lord's planning of 
months, sometimes; of my present charge given me as 
directly as anything ever was given ; of deli^^erance from 
sickness and pain; of help in hard places, etc. Yet 
none of it was ever supernatural [in form], but planned 
for and given me, as I plan for and give to my little 
girl the things she asks for. There is not a thing 
that I want, gi^eat or small, that I do not ask the Lord 
for, with the fullest assurance — begotten of experience 
as well as of faith — that he will give it to me, if it is 
wise and kind to do so; but I do not look for answers 



THE METHOD OF THE ANSWER. 



69 



otherwise than in the most natural ways, or what 
would seem to others to be such ways." 

This undoubtedly expresses the usual method which 
God adopts in answering prayer. Other methods, 
when they occur, are exceptions to what is wisely the 
ordinary rule; as God properly arranges to have all 
parts of his system work co-operatively. He can 
secure a double benefit, when, in relieving our wants, 
or fulfilling our desires, he can use the benevolent 
agency of others, and can give a blessing to well 
directed efforts of ourselves and our friends. And 
here may come in place the experience of Eev. Dr. 
Adoniram Judson, the missionary, as given in the sec- 
ond volume of his memoirs. It appears that Dr. Jud- 
son became intensely interested in behalf of the Jews, 
while he was laboring among the heathen of India. 
He not only prayed earnestly for their conversion, but 
awakened an interest in others also, so that he raised 
one thousand dollars towards a mission in Palestine, 
which he urged the Baptist Missionary Union to estab- 
lish. But, to his great regret, the enterprise was not 
undertaken. Were his prayers, then, left unanswered? 
Let the facts speak. Many years subsequent, indeed 
only a fortnight before his death, Mrs. Judson read to 
him from Rev. Dr. Hague's journal of travels in the 
East, this extract: "There (at Mro Goodell's house in 
Constantinople) we first learned the interesting fact, 
which was mentioned by Mr. Schaufiier, that a tract 
has been published in Germany giving some account 
of Dr. Judson's labors in Ava; that it had fallen into 



70 PEAYEPw AND ITS REMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 



tlie liands of some Jews, and had heen the means oj- 
their conversion; that it had reached Trebizond, where 
a Jew had translated it for the Jews of that place; that 
it had awakened a deep interest among them ; that a 
candid spirit of inquiry had been manifested; and that 
a request had been made for a missionary to be sent to 
them from Constantinople." Mrs. Jndson adds: " His 
eyes were filled with tears, when I had done reading, 
but still he at first spoke playfully, and in a way that 
a little disappointed me. Then a look of almost 
unearthly solemnity came over him, and clinging fast 
to my hand, as though to assure himself of being really 
in the world, he said: 'Love, this frightens me; I do 
not know what to make of it.' ' What ? ' ' Why, what 
you have been just reading. I never was deeply inter- 
ested in any object, I never prayed sincerely and earn- 
estly for anything, but it came ; at some time, no mat- 
ter at how distant a day; somehow, in some shape, 
probably the last I should have desired, it came. And 
yet I have had so little faith ! May God forgive me, 
and, while he condescends to use me as his instrument 
wipe the sin of unbelief from my heart.' " 

As bearing both upon the fact and the method of 
God's answer to prayer^ Prof. C. E. Stowe, D. D., has 
a pertinent argument and illusti-ation in Remarks on 
Prayer," published in the Biblical Rejjository^ vol. 
viii of the second series. "Let us now suppose an 
example. A pious man in the city of Erfurt, in ths 
reign of Maximilian, mourns over the corruptions or 
the church, and most earnestly longs for a reformation. 



THE METHOD OF THE ANSWER. 



71 



He prays, day and night, that the emperor may be 
converted, and feels that his prayer is accepted, and 
that his request will be granted. A charity student 
at law, in the University, the son of a poor miner in a 
neighboring village, is walking with a friend, that 
evening, when a sudden flash of lightning throws them 
both to the ground. He recovers, but finds that his 
friend is dead. This awful visitation is the means of 
his conversion to God, and he resolves, on the spot, to 
devote his whole life to the service of Christ, in the min- 
istry of the gospel. Is this an answer to the good man's 
prayers? He is praying for the conversion of the 
emperor, as a means of reforming the church ; but this 
young charity-student is Martin Luther, a man whom 
God has qualified to do more for the reformation of 
the church, than twenty such emperors as Maximilian 
could have done, had they been converted ever so thor- 
oughly. We do not know, and we cannot always know, 
what are the best means which God can employ for 
the accomplislmient of his work; but we do know the 
great ends he has to accomplish; and while we are pray- 
ing sincerely, and acceptably, for him to set in motion 
a particular instrumentality towards the accomplish- 
ment of these purposes, he may, in answer to our 
prayers, set in motion another, which is a thousand 
times more efficient." 

Methods are thus various and of minor account. 
God has his choice of many, and his own reasons for 
preferring now one and then another^ The kiud of 
answer is determined by his sovereign wisdom; and 



72 PEATEB AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

this, in a measure, adjusts the propriety of the instru- 
mentalities, as direct or indirect. 

Pray, though the gifts you ask for 
May never comfort your fears, 
May never repay your pleading: 
Yet pray, and with hopeful tears. 
An answer — not that you sought for, 
But diviner — will come one day: 
Your eyes are too dim to see it; 
Yet strive and wait and pray. 

— Adelaide A. Procter. 



CHAPTER y. 



CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS IN PRAYER. 

As prayer is one of the essentials of a life spiritually 
successful, and as our continual dependence and oft 
recurring temptations and trials make it daily neces- 
sary, the subject of the conditions of its success, as an 
appeal to God, ought to be of the deepest interest to 
every Christian. What are these conditions? We 
learn them from the nature of the case, and from the 
express statements of Scripture. They stand related 
to the object which God has in view, in requiring us 
to pray; to-wit, the securing a state of mind which 
shall honor him, shall promote right character in us, 
and shall make his gifts, when received, most pleas- 
ant and profitable. The promises to hear prayer are 
not made to the mere form, but to the appropriate 
spirit. That spirit has regard to various particulars. 

1. A Sense of Want. Those who use prayer as a 
mere form have no real sense of want. They follow a 
habit, or comply with a custom. Why should God 
hear them? They do not feel that they need him. 
They are not so burdened with their wants, as to be 
driven to prayer, as the only resource. It is reasona- 
ble that God should withhold a blessing, until we feel 
our need of it sufficiently. It is not enough that we 



74 PEAYER Am) ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 



mention oiir supposed wants, in the way of petition. 
"We must reflect upon our condition and circumstances 
until we are borne down with a sense of need, and fall 
upon our knees in earnest prayer, as having something 
really to ask. 

2. liEVEEENCE. God must regard his own honor. 
It is for our good, as well as for his glory, that he 
should be approached with reverence. " Hallowed be 
thy name " is the first petition in the prayer which 
Jesus taught. This forbids the coming to God in a 
light and thoughtless manner, or in a way of indecorous 
familiarity. It should prevent, also, everything noisy, 
boisterous and confused, as being inconsistent with a 
true conception of God's presence and character. 
Cyprian, bishop of Carthage and martyr, well says in 
his treatise on the Lord's Prayer: " Let our speech pmd 
petition, when we pray, be under discipline, observing 
quietness and modesty. Let us consider that we are 
standing in God's sight. We must please the divine 
eyes both with the habit of body and with the measure 
of voice. For as it is characteristic of a shameless 
man to be noisy with his cries, so, on the other hand, 
it is fitting to the modest man to pray with moderate 
petitions." And Tertullian, in his treatise on Prayer, 
inculcating the same duty, said : ^' But we more 
commend our prayers to God, when we pray with 
modesty and humility. ^ ^ ^ The sounds of our 
voice likewise should be subdued; else, if we are to be 
-heard for our noise, how large windpipes we should 
need!" The majesty of God should greatly impress 



CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS IN PEAYEE. 



75 



■QS. Every person of dignified station should be treated 
with due respect by inferiors, and should not grant 
favors to those who are irreverent. 

3. A Filial Spirit. Eeverence need not beget 
slavishness. God v/ould have us realize that we are 
his children, and he invites us to come with the words 
" Abba, Father" upon our lips, and the filial spirit in 
our hearts. A parent is grieved, when his own child 
comes to him in a cold, distrustful way, as if approach- 
ing a stranger. Jesus taught his disciples to begin 
their prayer with, " Our Father," in order to cherish 
this childlike spirit, which God loves to reward. It is 
our special privilege as Christians to understand this. 
Faber beautifully expresses it: 

" The light of love is round His feet, 
His paths are never dim; 
And He comes nigh to us, when we 
Dare not come nigh to Him. 

*' Let us be simple with Him, then, 
Not backward, stiff, or cold, 
As though our Bethlehem could be 
What Sinai was of old." 

4. Gratitude. Can we expect future mercies, if we 
are not thankful for past blessings? If a spirit of dis- 
content and murmur is in our hearts, as though God 
had not dealt kindly with us, are we in a frame to 
approach him, and implore his continued protection ? 
Or if we accept his gifts so lightly, and as a matter 
of course, that we are not impressed with his goodness, 
have we not missed their principal benefit, and thus 



76 



PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 



disqualified ourselves to ask or to receive added favors? 
It is not by accident, that the Psalms of David are 
half petition and half thanksgiving. Let them be an 
example, v^^hile the needed precept is furnished by 
Paul, when he says : " In everything by prayer and 
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be 
made known unto God." PhiL iv:6. There is noth- 
ing like gratitude to secure renewed benefactions. 

5. Humility. One must approach God in the 
spirit of truth; and humility is simply owning the 
truth as to our character and deserts. As a fact, we 
are infinitely beneath God in our powers, while our 
character is sinful, and our desert is that of evil only. 
Can we approach his mercy-seat, and forget this? 
And if we should, could he consistently accept us? 
Jesus taught his disciples to say, " Forgive us our 
debts " ; and he related the parable of the Pharisee 
and the Publican to enforce the sam^e idea. " God be 
merciful to me a sinner! " uttered with downcast eye 
and with the hand smiting the breast, was the sentence 
which God heard with delight. " Humble yourselves 
in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up," is the 
language of James (iv: 10). Confession of sin, heart- 
felt and definite, is an important condition of acceptable 
prayer. Therefore the wise man said: "He that cov- 
ereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth 
and forsaketh them shall have mercy." Pro v. xxviii: 
13. Abraham declared himself to be but " dust and 
ashes," when he prevailed in prayer. Gen. xviii:27. 
The Psalms also abound in penitent confessions of sin. 



CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS IN PEAYER. 77 



6. Faith. The very idea of prayer implies faith ; 
for why come to God for aid, if there is doubt of 
his ability, or his willingness, to help us ? To aj)proach 
him in unbelief is to mock him, and to stultify our- 
selves. It makes prayer a self-contradiction. It is as 
though a man should come to us, saying, ''I am in 
great trouble, and need your help, but I have no belief 
that you will render me assistance"! We should be 
quite likely to verify his unbelief. Faith is so essential 
to the divine honor, that uncommon stress is laid upon 
it as a condition. When salvation is asked, the grand 
condition is, faith in Christ as the divinely provided 
Savior. And similarly every other request must be 
accompanied by faith in God's willingness to grant it, 
if best, and to make good any promise which is con- 
nected with it. Jesus said to the afflicted father, who 
prayed that the demon might be cast out of his child: 
" If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him 
that believeth." Mark ix : 23. Of a certain city which 
he visited, it is said: " He did not many mighty works 
there, because of their unbelief." Mat. xiii: 58. To 
the healed woman he said: ''Thy faith hath saved 
thee: go in peace." Lukevii:50. And so it was in 
connection with all the miraculous aid which he dis- 
pensed: he required the applicant to have faith. And 
he laid down this general rule : " What things soever ye 
desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and 
ye shall have them." Mark xi:24:. The epistle to 
the Romans (iv: 19-21) commends Abraham, because, 
" being not weak in faith ^ he staggered not 



78 PEAYEE AKD ITS EEMARKABLE ANSWEES. 

at the promise of God, through nnbelief; but was 
strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully 
persuaded, that what he had promised, he was able 
also to perform." Similarly James writes: "If any 
of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to 
every man liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be 
given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing waver- 
ing. For he that wavereth, is like a wave of the sea 
driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that 
man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord." 
James i : 5-T. A failure in this respect will explain 
the want of success of many in their prayers. They 
do not " lift up holy hands, without wrath and doubt- 
ing." ITim. ii:8. 

T. Obedience. He who prays for divine help must 
not insult God by maintaining, at the same time, an 
attitude of opposition to him. The second and third 
petitions of the Lord's Prayer are: "Thy kingdom 
come; thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." 
'No prayer offered in a spirit inconsistent with this 
can hope to be accepted. Reason affirms this, and the 
Bible is explicit. Only the prayers of one who is truly 
consecrated to God can have power with him. God is 
not a mere convenience, to be resorted to for selfish 
purposes, in time of trouble. He invites us to enter 
into his spirit and plans, to identify ourselves with 
his cause and kingdom, to carry out in our lives his 
will; and he promises, on this condition, to care far us, 
and to hear our appeals for aid and blessing. There- 
fore we read in his Word : " The Lord is far from the 



CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS IN PRAYER. 



79 



wicked, but lie heareth the prayer of the righteous." 
Prov. XV : 29. "He that turiieth awaj his ear, from 
hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination." 
Prov. xxviii: 9. "If ye abide in mo, and my words 
abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be 
done unto you." John xv : 7. " The eyes of the Lord 
are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto 
their prayers." 1 Peter iii : 12. "And whatsoever 
we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his com- 
mandments, and do those things that are pleasing in 
his sight." 1 John iii: 22. Thus it will be seen, that 
when the sinful feel their need of God, and begin to 
pray to him, a first step must be, " to lift up holy 
hands," as Paul expresses it; to forsake all that they 
know to be wrong; to repent of evil thoughts and 
evil ways; to dedicate themselves to his service; to 
accept his law as their rule of life; to implore forgive- 
ness for the past, and to make a consecration of the 
future. 

8. Forgiveness or Injuries. Acceptable prayer 
must imply that we are forgiven of God; for how can 
an unpardoned sinner hope to have influence with 
him? But of nothing are we more plainly assured 
in the New Testament, and by the Savior himself, than 
that our own forgiveness by God is conditional upoTi 
our forgiveness of those who have injured us. The 
fifth petition of the Lord's Prayer significantly im- 
plies this, when it says: " Forgive us our debts, as we 
forgive our debtors;" and, at the close of its record in 
Matthew, as if to enforce this particular thought more 



80 PKAYER AND ITS KEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

tlian any other, these words of Jesus are added : " For 
if ye forgive men tlieir trespasses, your heavenly 
Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not 
men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive 
your trespasses." (vi: 14, 15.) As if to emphasize 
this further, on another occasion he directed this for- 
giveness to be repeated, if necessary, seventy times 
seven; uttered the instructive parable of the serv- 
ant who, owing his lord ten thousand talents, and 
being forgiven, would not forgive his fellow servant, 
who owed him but a hundred pence, and was there- 
fore handed over to " the tormentors ; " and con- 
cluded with this application: "So likewise shall my 
heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your 
hearts forgive not every one his brother, their tres- 
passes." Mat. xviii: 23-35. And that this truth is 
to be especially borne in mind in prayer, Mark reminds 
us (xi: 25): "When ye stand praying, forgive if ye 
have aught against any, that your Father also which 
is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses." And 
with this may be compared the words of Jesus about 
bringing a gift to the altar and there remembering 
that our brother has something against us, which 
should be settled. Mat. v: 23, 24. Many unanswered 
petitions may be thus explained. 

9. Asking for Approved Objects. — God does not 
mean, in hearing praj^er, to abdicate his throne, or to 
substitute our judgment for his own. Hence he re- 
quires us to ascertain, as far as possible, what his judg- 
ment is, and to conform our prayers to it. Therefore it 



CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS IN PKATER. 81 



is written : " And this is the confidence that we have 
in him, that if we ask anj thing according to his will, 
he heareth ns." 1 John v : 14. When, with reference 
to any specific object, we cannot ascertain God's exact 
will, we are to offer our petitions conditionally, with 
submission to the perfect wisdom and love of our 
heavenly Father. Thus Jesus, in the agony of the 
garden, prayed : " O my Father, if it be possible, let 
this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but 
as thou wilt." Mat. xxvi : 39. To aid us in under- 
standing our true wants, and the application of the 
promises to them, we need the enlightening and sanc- 
tifying influence of the Holy Spirit, which is freely 
offered. Thus we are taught that it is our duty to be 
" praying in the Holy Ghost," (Jude xx,) and to be 
" praying always with all prayer and supplication in 
the Spirit," (Ep. vi : 18,) while Paul assures us, (Horn, 
viii : 26, 27,) that " likewise the Spirit also helpeth 
our infirmities ; for we know not what we should pray 
for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh interces- 
sion for us with groanings which cannot be uttered; 
and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the 
mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for 
the saints according to the will of God." Thus we 
have divine aid in learning what objects are approved 
by God. Other light will be thrown on this condition 
of acceptable petition in the following chapter. • 

10. Importunate Peesevekanoe. — This is a pre- 
requisite to success in prayer, because it has an inti- 
mate connection with the preparation of a right spirit- 



82 PEATER AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

ual condition in us. "We saw at the outset that one 
must have a sense of want. Grod desires to deepen tliis 
to the utmost, and at the same time to test our faith, 
and to bring it out clearly to ourselves and to others. 
And so he delays the answer to our prayers, till they 
assume a more and more earnest tone, become impor- 
tunate, and show a spirit of perseverance, born not of 
blind presumption, or of unsubmissive desire, but of 
enlightened persuasion that the object is important, 
proper, and one that God will eventually grant. Thus 
Paul teaches us to pray " always, with all prayer and 
supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with 
all perseverance and suj)plication for all saints." Ep. 
vi : 18. Jesus spake a parable " to this end, that men 
ought always to pray and not to faint;" and the para- 
ble was of the importunate widow, who, by her con- 
tinual coming, gave the judge no rest till he redressed 
her wrongs; and he added: " Shall not God avenge his 
own elect, who cry day and night unto him, though 
he bear long with them?" Lake xviii : 1-8. In the 
Old Testament is the example of Jacob's prayer for 
deliverance from his brother Esau, and the wrestling 
with the divine angel, refusing to let him go, till 
assured of the needed blessing. In the 'New Testa- 
ment is the illustrative case of the Syro-Phenician 
widow, who besought Jesus to heal her possessed 
daughter, and would be deterred neither by neglect, 
nor by seeming rebuif, and who was finally rewarded 
for her perseverance and faith by gaining the desired 
answer. Do not our prayers fail sometimes because 



COlSDinONS OF SUCCESS m PEAYEE. 



83 



through discouragement we cease to pray? In the 
case of not a few successful prayers importunity has 
risen to the height of agony. This does not warrant 
ns in saying, with some, that agony is a condition of 
prevailing prayer; for agony is not a matter of will, 
but depends upon temperament and occasion; it is 
nowhere prescribed in the Bible, and it by no means 
always attends success in petition. Many an accepted 
petition has risen to God from the quietude of a com- 
plete faith. Yet the agon}^ of spirit which a sense of 
the need of the divine aid sometimes develops, in 
great emergencies and previous to striking answers, 
shows the relation of persevering importnnity to suc- 
cess. The • same earnestness is also manifested by 
fasting; all strong desire tending to destroy appetite, 
and the voluntary laying aside of food, in connection 
with prayer, indicating a spirit of humility and earn- 
estness. Hence Jesus said of certain very difficult 
cases of exorcism: "This kind (of demons) goeth not 
ont but by prayer and fasting." Mat. xvii : 21. 

11. Asking- m the Name of Cheist. — A sinner 
must needs have an intercessor. This idea was repre- 
sented ritually in the Old Testament economy, by the 
priesthood and its sacrifices; an arrangement which 
prefigured the atoning death and living advocacy of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. The statement of the Epistle to 
the Hebrews is: "But this man, because he continu- 
eth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. "Wliere- 
fore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that 
come unto God by him, seeing he ever livetli to make 



84: PEAYEK AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 

intercession for them," vii : 25. This explains tlis 
meaning of Jesus, when he said, just before his 
betrayal, trial and death: "Whatsoever je shall ask 
in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be 
glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my 
name, I will do it." John xiv : 13, 14. Again: 
" Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he 
will give it yon. Hitlierto have ye asked nothing in 
my name; ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may 
be full," xvi : 23, 24. The idea is, that as sinners, 
we must come in the way which God has provided, 
even as Jesus had before said: " I am the way and the 
truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father 
but by me," xiv : 6. It were contempt for us to 
approach without using the advocate whom God has 
provided; while to come through him is to make sure 
of a favorable hearing, if our spirit be otherwise 
appropriate. The famous hymn of Charles Wesley, 
"Arise, my soul arise!" is the very essence of the 
gospel in this respect, especially the lines: 

" He ever lives above, 
For me to intercede; 
His all-redeeming love, 
His precious blood to plead." 

And also these: 

"Five bleeding woimds lie bears, 
Received on Calvary; 
They pour effectual prayers, 
Tliey strongly speak for me." 



CONDITIONS OF SrCCESS IN PKAYEE. 



85 



12. Appropriate Effort. Prayer would be an 
injury, were it to supersede human action. For char- 
acter depends not a little upon personal effort. The 
result would be weakness and not strength, if all our 
wants could be supplied through prayer, with no exer- 
tion of our own. We see the effect in the case of the 
children of rich parents, who are unduly indulged, and 
have all for which they ask, without necessity of work. 
They seldom develop into a true manhood. God trains 
his children in a better way. The heathen understand 
this. Hence the ancient fable ridiculing the wagoner 
who piteously called on Hercules, to extricate his 
wagon from the mud, without putting his own shoul- 
der to the w^heel. The Christian as well as the pagan 
motto is, that God helps those who help themselves. 
Prayer must never be made an excuse for idleness and 
sloth. Its design is to rouse us to effort, by the hope 
of a divine blessing. 'Not until we are shut up to a 
difficulty which we can in no way touch, may v/e rely 
on prayer alone. In the matter of personal saiictifica- 
tion, the exhortation is to watch and pray. A signifi- 
cant implication is found in Christ's words: " I have 
chosen you and ordained you that ye should go and 
bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain ; 
that whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, 
he may give it you." John xv: 16. Thus Jesus 
m.ade labor a condition of acceptable prayer, as being 
a manifestation of sincerity, earnestness and self-denial, 
and as tending to the highest good of ourselves and 
of others. He himself labored and prayed, and taught 



86 PKAYEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

his disciples so to do. His instruction concerning 
daily bread was not simply to pray for it, but to work 
with faith that God would prosper industry, making 
his providence second our exertions. Thus Paul, in 
answer to his prayers, was assured that no life should 
be lost by the shipwreck at Melita; and yet he required 
the seamen to use the appropriate means for an escape, 
asserting that otherwise they could not be saved. 
Acts xxvii: 22-32. Probably some Christians fall into 
an error the reverse of that of men of the world: the 
one class substituting prayer for labor, and the other 
labor for prayer. But each was intended to aid the 
other, and progress was to be made by the use of both ; 
as the body avails itself of two arms and two feet, and 
as a boat is propelled by the simultaneous stroke of 
both oars. 

13. Union with Other Petitioners. If the prayer 
of one saint has power with God, as fulfilling the 
requisite moral condition of the bestowment of bless- 
ing, then the prayer of two saints may be said to have 
double the moral power; and in proportion as God's 
people unite in asking for a specific gift, must be the 
certainty of its bestowment. The way is thus opened 
more clearly and perfectly for the divine action. 
Therefore Jesus said : " If two of you shall agree on 
earth, as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall 
be done for them of my Father who is in heaven." 
Mat. xviii:19. Hence the marvelous eifect of the 
prayers of the disciples at Jerusalem, before the day 
of Pentecost, concerning which we read: "These all 



CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS IN PRAYER. 



87 



continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, 
v/ith the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and 
with his brethren." Acts i: 14. This was evidently 
one reason why Paul continually besought the Chris- 
tians to whom he wrote, to join their prayers to his, to 
secure the objects which he mentions. ''I^ow I 
beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's 
sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive 
together with me, in your prayers to God for me." 
Eom. xv:30. "Ye also helping together by prayer 
for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means 
of many persons, thanks may be given by many in 
our behalf" 2 Cor. i:ll. It is thus evident, that 
we may strengthen our prayers by associating others 
with us in making common petition for the desired 
object. 

These thirteen conditions are annexed to prevailing 
prayer; but they are really so many specifications of 
the one condition of a right state of heart — a heart 
unselfish, in sympathy with God, jealous for his honor, 
and desirous of carrying out his will and promoting 
the good of all. There is no mysterious or inexplica- 
ble condition, and none beyond the reach of the hum- 
blest petitioner. Yet as these conditions do reason- 
ably and necessarily exist, they must be regarded by 
those who w^ish to prevail in prayer. And it would 
be both unchristian and unphilosophical, for one to 
think that he could test prayer in a manner inconsist- 
ent with any of these prerequisites to success. Fui 
moral experiments, equally with those in physical Bci 



88 PEAYEE AKD ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 

ence, have their essential conditions, whicli arise from 
the very nature of the case. When God ordained the 
physical system, he did it with strict reference to the 
nature and laws of matter ; and when he ordained the 
moral system, of which prayer is a force, he did it 
with equally strict reference to the nature and laws of 
mind. But of this further notice will be taken, when 
we come to consider skeptical objections to prayer. 

When thou dost talk with God — by prayer, I mean — 
Lift up pure hands ; lay down all lust's desires ; 
Fix thoughts on heaven ; present a conscience clean : 
Since holy blame to mercy's throne aspires, 
Confess faults' guilt, crave pardon for thy sin, 
Tread holy paths, call grace to guide therein. 

Even as Elias, mounting to the sky. 

Did cast his mantle to the earth behind, 

So, when the heart presents the prayer on high, 

Exclude the world from traffic with the mind: 

Lips near to God, and ranging heart within, 

Is but vain babbling and converts to sin. 

— Hobert Southwell. 



CHAPTEE YI. 



TEE PRATER OF FAITH. 

A chapter is devoted to tlie Prayer of Faith, be- 
cause the subject is of importance, and is often misun- 
derstoodo The misunderstanding, moreover, is not 
without evil effect. Error never is harmless. In this 
instance, it has served to perplex and distress some 
good people, and to delude others; while providing, 
skeptics with a host of objections against the idea of 
all prayer. Those have been perplexed and distressed, 
who were wishing to pray acceptably, and were told 
that they were not exercising the required faith ; while 
yet they were conscious of a readiness to credit God's 
word. Having read the Bible carefully, on the subject, 
and studied the particular proof-texts to which they 
were pointed, they were not certain as to the extent 
of their meaning. They were then charged with not 
being willing to believe the Scripture, and thus with 
defeating their own prayers, in connection with ob- 
jects which they greatly desired to secure; such as 
the conversion of individuals in whom they were spec- 
ially interested, or the occurrence of a revival in cer- 
tain churches. Urged by persons in whose supj^osed 
superior piety and spiritual discernment they had con- 
fidence, they sought to increase their faith by a des- 
4.^ (89) 



90 PEAYER AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 

perate will- work; but in vain. And so they remained 
in a state of bewilderment and discouragement; not 
knowing whether they were guilty of unbelief, or 
whether the Bible did not mean what it seemed to 
say. 

The deluded class have also had an unpleasant ex- 
perience. Persuaded that their theory of prevailing 
prayer was correct, they tried to reduce it to practice. 
In so doing, they had for a time seeming corrobora- 
tions of their view, the facts coming out according to 
their desire and petition. This gradually emboldened 
them to enlarge their experiments, and to announce the 
result confidently before hand. When the case was 
plainly going against them, they endeavored to believe 
more firmly; insisting that their faith was being put 
to the test, and that, in the end, it would signally tri- 
umph. Quite possibly, .also, they fell into criticism 
of those who doubted their assurances of a favorable 
result, and thus grieved true hearted brethren and 
sisters, and created coldness where there should have 
been warm sympathy. Finally, they were put to con- 
fusion by the disappointment of their hopes and the 
non-fulfillment of their predictions ; which left them 
on the edge of a reaction into an actual and sad un- 
belief; and for a time paralyzed their spiritual influ- 
ence. 

A case was reported to the author, as having these 
characteristics. The "prayer of faith," technically 
but improperly so called, was brouglit to bear on a 
lady seriously ill with organic disease, and whose re- 



I 



THE PEATEE OF FAITH. 91 

coverj was pronounced impossible by tlie attendant 
physicians; and she was assured not simply that God 
could and might heal her, but that, in answer to the 
petitions of a circle of prayer, she was to be fully re- 
stored to health. This assurance was repeated to the 
last, and it was said (but this may have been untrue) that 
some even expected that she would be raised from the 
dead, to save the credit of their theory and predictions. 
But the result was sorrowful in all respects. The lady 
was kept in a dubious and distracted state of mind, 
between the contradictory declarations of the physi- 
cians and her intimate Christian friends, so that her 
last days were robbed of much of the peace which 
might have characterized them, and the gospel of 
Christ failed to secure the triumphant dying testimony 
of victory to which it was entitled. The eifect upon 
the unconverted was also unhappy, as it led them to 
doubt the confident assertions of Christians as to the 
teaching of the Scriptures, Of course that circle of 
prayer fell into disrepute, and its leaders lost no small 
part of the influence which they had previously pos- 
sessed. It was a clear case of being misled by an 
erroneous theory. 

It will be noticed, furthermore, that when skeptics 
assail the doctrine of prayer, they invariably state it 
in the form of this obnoxious theory; knowing that 
unanswerable objections can be brought against it. 
They thus succeed in rendering the idea of prayer 
ridiculous to the minds of those who have not sutiicient 
knowledge of the Bible, to discriminate between the 



92 TEA^TER AKD ITS EEMAEKAELE ANSWERS. 



view presented bj the inspired writers and tliis delu- 
sion. 

This theory teaches, that we can receive, in answer 
to prayer, any gift which we really think to be desira- 
ble, if we believe, at the time of offering the prayer, that 
it will be o^ranted. This is said to be " The Praver of 
Faith," which always prevails; and the cause of fail- 
ure to receive anything for which one prays is declared 
to be, a lack of the specific faith, that the exact thing 
petitioned for, will surely be given. As faith, to be 
reasonable, must rest upon evidence, we are referred 
to a pledge which God is said to have given to the 
effect named, in the texts of Scripture which, without 
naming any limitation, bid us ask, and assure us that 
we shall receive; to the texts which name faith as the 
necessary condition of prevailing prayer; to the words 
in Mark xi: 24: " What things soever ye desire when 
ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall 
have them;" and to the language in James v: 15, ''The 
prayer of faith shall save the sick." God, it is argued, 
has thus placed himself at our disposal; so that what- 
ever may be our felt want, a believing petition will 
secure its relief. But to this view many things may be 
objected. 

1. It implies that God virtually abdicates his throne 
in our favor; for it represents him as pledging himself 
in advance to do whatever we ask him to do. That 
would be to make man ruler. God would even exceed 
the folly of Oriental monarchs, who, like Ahasueriis, 
were accustomed to assure their favorites, in a mood 



i 

I 

j THE PRAYER OF FAITH. 93 

of generosity, that they would give them their 
request "even to the half of the kingdom or, like 
Herod, to " promise with an oath to give whatsoever 
they would ask." It is impossible that God could 
intend to place the scepter in our hands, by assuring 
us that he would always conform his action to our 
petition. Such an unconditional pledge leaves no 
place for a divine plan. The Bible assures us, that 
God is operating upon a wise and minute plan, which 
is to be carried out for the general good and his own 
glory. But he must needs surrender such plan, if he 
is to hold himself bound to grant every ]3etition which 
we present with faith — a faith, observe, not in his 
general wisdom, but in his readiness to give us such 
specific things as we may happen to think desirable. 

The only possible reply to this objection would be, 
to claim that, in God's all-comprehending plan, he 
has from the beginning arranged, that no prayer shall 
ever be offered in the faith of a specific answ^er, but 
such as he shall inspire, and shall be determined to 
hear. But such a claim cannot be sustained ; facts are 
against it. There have been numerous cases in which, 
under the influence of this theory. Christians have 
selected an object for prayer, and assumed that it would 
certainly be granted, and then have been disappointed. 
But a modification of this view has a great truth in it. 
Let us imagine a soul entirely consecrated to God, and 
habitually in union with him, which, not merely with 
reference to some selected object is full of prayer and of 
faith, but with reference to all objects ; and it may be 



94 PEAYEK AND ITS REMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 



truly affirmed, that God will so regulate its desires, 
that thev will fasten only upon such specific blessings 
as he is about to bestow; and that concurrently he 
will excite a corresponding expectation in the mind. 
But the naked, unqualified theory, as before stated, 
begins at the human instead of the divine end of the 
series of acts, and puts man's desire, petition and faith 
first, and God's operation second. This rules out a 
divine plan, and supposes that the one who prays can 
make no mistake in his judgment, can have no blind- 
ness in his desires. 

2. This method would be badly adapted to our 
moral training, which is the end chiefly had in view 
in the introduction of prayer into the divine economy. 
It would breed presumption rather than faith, self- 
confidence rather than humility; and it would fail to 
develop the spirit of patience, submission, importunity, 
perseverance and labor. It would introduce into God's 
family the very evils which are to be deplored in 
human families where parental indulgence is the only 
rule. 

3. It would ruin us and those we love and for 
whom we ofler petitions. We should be certain to ask 
for gifts (as all children do) which would not be for 
our own good, or for the benefit of those for whom we 
might pray. Desire is ever blind. We think we need 
a multitude of things, which we are better without. 
In times past we have asked for that which, afterwards, 
we were glad not to have received ; and we have prayed 
to have tvv^nts prevented, which we now see to have 



THE PEAYER OF FAITH. 



95 



been for oiir good. God is too benevolent to put so 
dangerous a power into our hands. 

4. The theory involves self-contradiction; * for it 
would bind God to do opposite things, at the same 
time, if opposing prayers should chance to be offered 
by those who accept the supposed pledge. One man 
wishes dry weather, to-day, while another particularly 
desires to have it rain; and each could present an 
excellent reason for his prayer, so far as he himself is 
concerned. Christian people are attached to conflict- 
ing parties and interests in politics, in ecclesiastical 
matters, in business enterprises, in military struggles. 
Did any such invariable rule of answer to prayer exist, 
they would call upon God to do the most contradictory 
things, daily ! Can it be that God has exposed him- 
self to such embarrassment ? 

5. The theorists themselves either never venture to 
act upon their theory, or are unwilling witnesses of its 
failure. For plainl}^ they do not secure a multitude 
of objects which they most desire to secure, and for 
which either they strangely do not pray, or else pray 
in vain. Their friends and relatives die ; their enter - 
prises fail; their troubles come and remain, as in the 
case of other men; and their spiritual undertakings 
are no broader, or more successful than those of Chris- 
tians who pray on a different understanding of the con- 
ditions. The wonder is, if this absolute and specific 
faith is always rewarded, as they assert that it is, that 
they do not pray with the requisite faith for the con- 
version of all around them; for the removal of the 



96 PEATITu AXD ITS EEilAEXAELZ A:>7S^EES. 



prevailing evil?, wliicli tliey observe arxd feel; and, in 
tact. iVir tlie -alvation of tlie whole world. "What could 
be mc'i'e appiv.priate ^ Yet tliey have never sncceeded 
in a'jj'jiiip^i-liing sucli ends, and their efibrts to come 
into the requisite state of mind, have brought about 
sad results. The fuilowing is an extract from a letter 
communicated to the author, when he was editor of 
Ti'.e Adranc,, see paper of March 26, 186S,) by the 
gentleman who had the original in his possession. It 
was written by " Father Xash." as he was familiarly 
called, who had special power in prayer, and was emi- 
nently nsefnl, in that way. in the great re^dvals of the 
State of jSTew York, forty -five years ago. But he car- 
ried his idea of the " Prayer of Faith " to an nnscrip- 
tnral extreme: which led him to a feeling of personal 
resp'jn-ibility exaggerated and overwhelming, and by 
which his physical system was utterly broken down. 
Tlie letter is dated. Terona, Oneida Co., Y., !N"ov. 
T. 1S31. and would occupy many pages, if given in 
full: the ibllowing extracts will show his theoiy: 

Since you were here I have been thinking of 
j)rayer— particularly of praying for the Holy Ghost, 
and its descent. It seems to me I have always limited 
God in this respect. I have never felt, till 

since yon left us, that I might rationally ask for the 
^r/^r h :::xuence of the Spirit to come down; not only 
on indiwiduals, but on a whole people, region, conntiy 
and world. On Satm-day I set myself to do this, and 
the devil was very angry with me, yesterday, for it. 
I am now cuuvinced, it is my duty and pri^dlege, and 



THE PRAYER OF FAITH. 



97 



the duty of every other Christian, to pray for as much 
of the Holy Spirit as came down on the day of Pente- 
cost, and a great deal more. I know not why we may 
not ask for the entire and utmost influence of the 
Spirit to come down, and, asking in faith, see the full 
answer. -^^ I think I never did so freely ask 

the Holy Ghost for all mankind. My body is in pain, 
but I am happy in my God. * I have only 

just begun to understand what Jesus meant when he 
said, ^ All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, 
believing, ye shall receive.' I suppose millions have 
gone to hell, because I had no more faith to pray for 
them, and I do not see why I do not deserve to be 
damned for this, -x- -5^ -^^ I suppose I have done the 
world much more hurt than good. Thus, 
by my unbelief, I have robbed God, robbed heaven, 
beneiited hell, cheated sinners out of their souls, and 
cheated myself; so that my portion will be small in 
heaven; for it will be according to the service w^hich I 
shall have done for God. I wonder he does not let 
me go to hell! Wretch tliat I am, I suppose, how- 
ever, that I shall just escape, as Paul did, because I 
did it ignorantly, and in unbelief." 

]^ow this was making himself personally responsi- 
ble for the salvation of the world; as if it depended 
on his offering " the prayer of faith," as he understood 
that phrase. He could not endure the strain, and the 
next morning he added: "I have felt a little like 
praying that I might be overwhelmed with the Holy 
Ghost, die in the operation, and go to heaven thus; 



5 



98 



PKAYES AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 



but God knows." ISTeed any one be surprised to learn 
that, a few days after "Father Nash" had penned 
these words, he was found dead, upon his knees! He 
reasoned too logically from his mistaken premises. 
He believed that, as God had promised to grant any 
thing which a Christian asked with specific faith, he 
w^as bound to secure by prayer the conversion of 
neighbors, countrymen, and mankind; and he there- 
fore struggled, agonized, and snapped the cord of life, 
in a desperate attempt to work himself into a faith 
sufficient to save the land and the world. Rev. Asa 
Mahan, D. D., who lived and labored, at the time, in 
that region, states, in a communication to The 
Advance of May 21, 1868, that several died from a 
similar cause, while many others suffered from a 
physical prostration and a moral and spiritual para- 
lysis, from which they never recovered. Yet the first 
eflfect of the preaching of this theory seemed remark- 
ably good; for it had in it a partial truth. 

6. I^or does the Bible lend support to this view. 
Some think that the Bible means a peculiar kind of 
prayer, by " z^A^ prayer of faith;" which difiers from 
other acceptable prayer, in that it always secures its 
specific object by believing that it will recei\'e the 
very thing desired ; and that this can be ofi:ered only 
in certain cases, where special promises exist, or 
special indications are made of the divine will. But 
the words of James, " the prayer of faith shall save 
the sick," do not imply any such peculiarity; but only 
that the prayer so offered, with a faith appropriate to 



THE PRAYER OF FAITH. 



99 



the circumstances, would secure tlie desired result. 
He does not affirm that we ought not always to offer 
" the prayer of faith," whatever that may be. Plainly 
we should; for, as was proved in the last chapter, 
faith is made a condition of all acceptable prayer, 
]^o man has a right to expect any blessing from God, 
through prayer, without faith, any more than without 
reverence, or sense of want, or gratitude, or humility, 
or submission, or obedience. He must " lift up holy 
hands, without wrath or dovMingP All true prayer 
must be the prayer of faith. 

But in interpreting Scripture, one must never forget 
that, usually, but a single topic is handled at a time, 
and the reader is expected to know, or to learn, what is 
elsewhere said. Because in one passage salvation is 
made to turn upon the fact of repentance, it must not 
be concluded that there is no other condition attached. 
Further inquiry shows that we must also believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ. And so when we read a text 
which gives one condition of acceptable prayer, we 
must not think that this is to be taken alone, apart 
from the limitations and qualifications mentioned in 
other texts. Each must aid to define the others. 
Thus the familiarity of a filial spirit must be limited 
by reverence; and a spirit of importunity by a feeling 
of humility. A reliance on the name and merit of 
Christ must be accompanied by a full purpose of obe- 
dience; a faith that God will give, by a submission of 
the form and time to his superior wisdom. 

Here is where a mistake is made by the theory 



100 PEAYEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 

under condemnation. It finds a passage which reads, 
*'What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, be- 
lieve that ye receive them, and ye shall have them," 
and it fails to remember, that this presupposes that 
another condition, shaping the desire and the prayer, 
has already been complied with; to- wit, that we 
should ask only for the things which are according 
to the will of God. John says, "And this is the 
confidence that we have in him, that if we ask any- 
thing according to his will, he heareth us;" which 
certainly does not mean, that if we ask anything ac- 
cording to our own will, (provided only we ask believ- 
ingly,) he will always hear us. But Jesus, assuming 
that we understand this, says, that, when we thus 
have an object of desire, which we have evidence is 
according to the divine will, then, if by a firm faith, 
we believe that we have it, we shall find it to be 
indeed so. This leaves us to submit unknown matters 
to the yet unrevealed divine will; making our prayer 
with respect to them conditional. Thus did J esus in 
his prayer in the garden ; and received that which was 
best. Similar was the spirit which Paul exercised 
with respect to "the thorn in the flesh;" for the 
removal of which he thrice prayed specifically, with- 
out obtaining the desired object; yet" found his faith 
honored and his prayer answered, by a spiritual 
equivalent, even special grace which enabled him to 
gain a victory over the trial. 

What, then, is the Scriptural doctrine of the prayer 
of faith? Simply this, that whe7i loe jpray^ we must 



THE PRAYER OF FAITH. 



101 



fully helieve that God will he true to all that he has 
promised. This implies that we are ready to learn 
what his promises are, and to make them the basis of 
a sure expectation. Less than this would not harmon- 
ize with the texts which require faith as a condition 
of prevailing prayer, or with that general principle so 
clearly announced in Heb. xi: 6; "But without faith 
it is impossible to please him ; for he that cometh to 
God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder 
of those that diligently seek him." That it may be 
seen to what divine assurances faith gives credence, 
when it engages in prayer, attention should be paid to 
four points. 

1. The general pledge that Prayer shall le an- 
svjered. As we have already seen, the Bible abounds 
in declarations that God answers prayer; as when the 
Psalmist says: "O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee 
shall all flesh come;" and when Jesus says, Ask and 
it shall be given unto you." This is, of course, subject 
to the natural and obvious limitation, that God will 
use his superior wisdom in deciding what to give and 
what to refuse, and also when and how to bestow his 
favors. Prayer does not set aside God's sovereignty; 
which is simply his love directed by his wisdom. But 
then these general pledges are an assurance of real 
aid. They mean that in human experience prayer 
will be found to be an actual help; that it will not 
prove a mockery of human hope. Faith will accept 
these pledges at their full value, and will so rest upon 
them, as habitually to carry all wants to God in child- 



102 PRAYEE AND ITS EEMAEKAELE ANSWERS. 



like petition, certain that he will do the very best for 
us that is possible, and taking the comfort of that 
fact. It will also have the spirit of expectation, and 
will watch for answers to its petitions, relying on the 
fatherly character of God and his invitations to his 
children to make known their desires with the utmost 
freedom. 

2. We must notice the reason for faith, found in 
the promises of the Bible on specific subjects, God 
does more than to give general assurance of a willing- 
ness to hear prayer, and to relieve human want. He 
makes mention of specific blessings, which he is ready 
to bestow. These more minute pledges are in various 
forms of promise, prophecy, covenant and command. 
A promise is a direct engagement; a covenant is a 
still more formal and solemn act, usually accompanied 
b}^ a seal; a prophecy is a statement of divine pur- 
pose, intended for our encouragement in prayer and 
labor; and a command always implies a result which 
God is willing to aid us in securing. It is only nec- 
essary, then, to ascertain that the desired favor is cov- 
ered by some promise, covenant, prophecy, or command, 
to have a perfect warrant for faith that, in answer to 
prayer, God will bestow that ver}^ thing. One could 
not ask for a better ground of assurance. 

" How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, 
Is laid for your faith in his excellent word!" 

We are entitled to claim, at God's hand, whatever 
he has been pleased graciously to promise. And so 



THE PRAYER OF FAITH. 



103 



oar prayers may and slionld have the characteristic of 
perfect faith, that the\^ will be literally answered accord- 
ino' to the blessino^ asked. 

Are these specific pledges numerous? Do they 
cover the ground of our usual necessities? Will they 
impart an element of certainty to our prayers, in the 
emergencies which men are often called to face? An 
affirmative reply to these questions is authorized by 
the language of Scripture. For we find, in the Bible, 
promises to the righteous of protection, deliverance, 
food, raiment, wisdom, guidance, sustaining grace, re- 
ward for industry and beneficence, and the presence 
and power of the Holy Spirit as a guaranty of peace, 
holiness and usefulness. The prayer of faith uses 
these divine assurances as a sufficient ground of con- 
viction that God will aid in the emergency to which 
any of these promises applies, according to the exi- 
gency of the case. The man feels that he can pray witli 
an accompanying certainty of being heard. It is not 
now so much an occasion of submission, as of grateful 
expectation. God here has made known his will, in 
advance. The true submission to it is, to take him at 
his word, and joyfully to claim what he has authorized 
us to ask. Not to do so, is a distrust of him, as well 
as a robbery of our own souls. It is as though a poor 
man should neglect to present a benefactor's check at 
the bank, fearing that it might not mean w^iat it said 
on its face, or might for some cause not be paid. As 
such lack of confidence is grievous to our heavenly 
Father, so a firm faith is his delight. 



104 FEATER AI^D ITS EE^IAEKABLE AI^SWEES. 



In interpreting tlie specific promises, we must guard 
against a merely imaginative, or a fortuitous interpre- 
tation of them ; in Trliich some indulge without war- 
rant from the Bible itself. There are those who, not 
content with a legitimate inference from Scriptural 
promises, treat the Bible as a conjuring book, or a,n 
instrument of fortune-telling. Thej wish to be 
divinely guided ; and so, after prayer, they open the 
sacred volume, determined to take the first text which 
meets the eye, as an indication from God of what they 
are to do. Or they read the Bible devoutly, or engage 
in praj^er, and meet with or suddenly think of a pas- 
sage, the wording of which powerfully impresses their 
imagination as applicable to their case; especially if 
it harmonizes with their natural wishes. The diificulty 
is, that a rational faith has no ground on which to 
rest, in such a case; there being no assiirccnce in 
BcriptiirG that God will reveal his will in that way. 
And it often results in lamentable delusion; as when 
ignorant persons think they are converted and forgiven, 
because the words, " Thy sins are forgiven thee,'' have 
fiashed into their minds, when they were in mental 
distress. It happens, sometimes, that a truly pious 
man, whose temperament is enthusiastic, being seri- 
ously out of health, is impressed in reading, or in 
thought, with some such words as those of the Psalm- 
ist: I shall not die, but live and declare the works 
of the Lord." Perhaps he seizes upon tiiis, as an 
assurance that he is to recover, and have the enlarged 
opportunities of usefulness which he earnestly desires. 



THE PEATEE OF FAITH. 



105 



This may be but imagmation, and this mistaken con- 
fidence, tliougli it imparts a joyous hope to the last 
months of his life, may also so far mislead him, in his 
plans and arrangements, as to prevent desirable things 
from being said aijd done, which would be said and 
done, were not the mind preoccupied with an expecta- 
tion which is not to be realized. The effect upon 
others, also, is unfortunate, in that it persuades them 
that faith is but imagination. 

It is not intended, by these remarks, to deny that 
the Holy Spirit often uses passages of Scripture unex- 
pectedly seen, to lead the mind to needed spiritual 
results; nor yet to express doubt that God may be 
pleased to arrange in his providence that the eye, at 
times, shall meet appropriate texts, which fill the 
soul with needed comfort. The instances in proof of 
such a divine o^uidance are too numerous and strikino* 
to allow of denial. The conversion of Augustine seems 
to have been thus ordered; for, at the acme of his 
internal struggle, on the point whether he could for- 
ever renounce the pleasures of sinful indulgence, for 
Christ's sake, and when he was weeping alone, in 
agony of confiict, he heard a child in a neighboring 
house singing something in which occurred the wwds, 
" Take up and read." And so he rushed to where there 
was a volume of Scripture, and, to give his own words: 
" I seized, opened, and in silence read that passage on 
which mine eyes first fell — ' Not in rioting and drunk- 
enness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife 
and envying: but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, 



106 



and make not provision for tlie flesh, to folSIl the Insts 
tliereoi.' 'No fnrtlier would I read; nor needed I; for 
instantly, at the end of tMs sentence, hj a light as 
it were of serenity infased into my heart, all the dark- 
ness of donbt vanished awaj." Here was appropriate 
instruction fitted to every such. soul. Bat where does 
the Bible convey a warrant for ns to trim it by prayer 
into an accidental prophet, in a way not very unlike 
for tune- telling by cards. The case of a minister of 
strong self-will could be mentioned, who in this way 
deluded himself into the idea that he was being 
divinely guided in a course which came near to a ship- 
wreck of his character and nsefolness. Onlj the per- 
sistent contradiction of facts drove him finally to a 
rational and genuinely Scriptnral cjondndL And this 
consideration prepares us for the next support of faith. 

3. Another warrant for faith, in connection with 
prayer, may be found in the irvdicatioiw of dimfie 
provideiice. Jesus told the Pharisees, that if they had 
studied the signs of the times, as diligently as they 
had the signs of the weather, they would have under- 
stood the will of God. We might not be able to inter- 
pret these signs, were it not for the word of God, 
which pre-announces his purposes; but with the Bible 
in our hands, to assure us of the divine plans, we ought 
to be able to discern the evidence that they are in pro- 
cess of fulfillment in specific cases. "When a friend has 
publicly stated, that he intends to build a house, and 
soon after we notice that sand, lime, brick and lumber 
are being drawn to land which he owns, we are war- 



THE PKAYEK OF FAITH. 



107 



ranted in the inference, that he is now carrying out 
his intention, and will fulfill any promise which he may 
have made in connection with it. And so God's peo- 
ple find special ground for the exercise of faith as to 
the answer of their prayers, when they discern, in the 
events of the day, in the peculiar ordering of circum- 
stances around them, evidence that God is preparing 
to accomplish a part of his work in the world in which 
they feel a special interest. For his will appears in 
his providence, as truly as in his Word ; and they who 
make a study of divine providence (as all God's people 
should do) become quick to discern its meaning, and 
to foretell coming events of a moral and spiritual char- 
acter. The prayers of such saints are full of confidence, 
and petition almost turns into anticipative thanks- 
giving. 

4. There is still another warrant for a prayer of 
faith, found in the leadings of the Holy Spirit. That 
these are a reality, no devout Christian will be dis- 
posed to deny. The New Testament is filled with 
declarations on this point ; and it was the chief theme 
of discourse of our Savior at the institution of the 
Lord's Supper. As the promised Comforter was to be 
the universal spiritual helper of Christ's followers, we 
are prepared to learn that his aid has a special relation 
to our supplications. We are therefore directed to 
" pray in the Spirit," and are assured that " the Spirit 
also helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we 
should pray for as we ought; but the spirit itself mak- 
eth intercession for us with groanings which cannot 



108 PSAYER AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEKS. 



be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth 
what is the mind of the Spirit; because he maketh 
intercession for the saints according: to the will of 
God." Rom. viii:26, 27. It will be seen from this 
statement, that the work of the Spirit pertains to the 
exact point requisite to faith; to-wit, an understand- 
ing of the proper objects of prayer, and of the actual 
will of God. The Spirit may then beget in the soul a 
strong faith, which shall be concurrent with the divine 
plans; a supposition which is in accord with the idea 
that prevailing prayers are inspired of God, as we read: 
" I will pour upon the house of David and upon the 
inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of 
supplications." Zech. xii: 10. 

In consequence of this bestowment of the Holy 
Spirit, the soul of the Christian is prepared to pray 
with faith. First of all, the Spirit awakens right 
desires and directs them to the proper objects; so that 
prayer goes straight to its mark. When not thus 
influenced, our desires are blind, being occasioned by 
mere natural impulse; and consequently they often 
long for objects which God cannot wisely bestow. 
But by the Spirit our desires are chastened, elevated, 
purified, and thus brought into sympathy with the 
divine plans, as respects ourselves and others. We are 
prepared to pray with a spiritual intelligence and 
intuition, and to have a corresponding confidence 
awakened that we shall be heard. 

Moreover, the Spirit guides to a true interpretation 
of Scripture; so that we understand the promises, cov- 



THE PEAYEK OF FAITH. 



109 



enants, prophesies and commands, in tlieir adaptation 
to our duties, temptations, trials and labors. When 
these are made clear to our apprehension, and we feel 
that in them we are come into contact with the heart 
of God, to learn the extent of his love, we exercise 
faith as the most natural of inward acts. What else 
does prayer signify, we say, than the use of the means 
appointed to ohtain precisely what we need, and what 
God has promised? 

In a similar manner, the Spirit aids us to interpret 
the divine providence. He w^ho is in spiritual sym- 
pathy with God's aims, and is led to an understanding 
of his Word, has the key to the mystery of earthly 
events. He sees along the line of divine purposes, 
and thus with a longer and clearer vision than that of 
men of the world. During our late war, there were 
no citizens so persistently hopeful, so certain of success, 
even at the darkest periods, as those who saw in the 
struggle great moral issues ; and who believed that the 
time had come for an answer to the prayers which 
had so long been offering for the overthrow of slavery. 
It is true also, that some Christians have a prevision 
of coming scenes of religious revival. Thy are filled 
with the Spirit," and can see indications which others 
do not notice. They have a consciousness that their 
peculiarly strong spiritual desires have been kindled 
by the Comforter, to be gratified and not to be disap- 
pointed. Thus in his " Lectures on Eevivals," Mr. 
Finney tells this anecdote : " There was a woman in 
the state of Kew Jersey, in a place where there had 



110 PEAYEK AXD ITS KEMAUKABLE ANSWERS. 



been a revival. She was very positive there was going 
to be another. Slie insisted upon it, that they had 
had the former rain, and were now going to have the 
latter rain. Slie wanted to have conference meetings 
appointed. But the minister and elders saw nothing 
to encourage it, and would do nothing. ^ ^ ^ Siie 
went forward, and got a carpenter to make seats for 
her; for she said she would have meetings in her own 
house: there was certainly D-oino^ to be a revival. She 
had scarcely opened her doors for meetings, before the 
Spirit of God came doAvn with great power." The 
history of almost any church will furnish similar facts, 
and the same truth holds true as to individual con- 
versions. 

AVe come, then, to this conclusion; that there is no 
prayer acceptable to God, but the prayer of faith; and 
that this simply means, that all prayer must be offered 
in full confidence that God will be true to his word. 
Perhaps the truth has been sufficiently expressed by 
Professor Thomas C. Upham, D. D., in his "Life and 
Experience of Catharine Adorna," of whom he makes 
these excellent remarks: 

She had faith in God's character, faith in his good- 
ness and wisdom, faith in his providential arrange- 
ments, faith in his promises. And this faith she ex- 
ercised constantly and practically, during the heavy 
trials of the earlier part of her life, and amid the 
weighty duties, which characterized its later periods. 
If she wanted wisdom, for instance, all she had to do 
was, to exercise, in sincere dependence upon God for 



THE PEAYER OF FAITH. 



Ill 



his direction, those rational powers which God had 
given her, fullj helieving that he would guide her to 
all those results which were proper, and which were 
most beneficial. She did not regard it as necessary 
or desirable, that she should have full or absolute 
knowledge; but only that kind and degree of knowl- 
edge which God sees best. And in tlie same manner, 
if she desired to be delivered from the presence of any 
temporary evil, she laid the case before God; fully be- 
lieving that God would grant all that relief which ho 
saw to be beneficial; and she accepted the result, what- 
ever it might be, as the true answer to her prayer, and 
with entire submission and gratitude. True faith, as 
it seems to us, is always exercised with the limitation 
implied in these remarks. It believes that God will 
give us whatever we ask in accordance with his wis- 
dom ax>d will. It neither goes, nor desires to go far- 
ther." 

Behold tlie throne of grace ! 

The promise calls me near: 
There Jesus shov»^s a smiling face, 

And waits to answer prayer. 

That rich atoning blood, 

Which sprinkled round I see, 
Provides for those who come to God, 

An all-prevailing plea. 

My soul ! ask what thou wilt; 

Thou canst not be too bold : 
Since his own blood for thee he spilt, 

What else can he withhold ? 

— John Newton. 



CHAPTEE YII. 



SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PBA^YER. 

MoDEKN skeptics have made multiplied assaults 
upon prayer. Plainly tliey deem the practice one of 
the worst forms of superstition, and the faith in it one 
of the most serious obstacles to the progress of unbe- 
lief. Undoubtedly the latter supposition is correct. 
The more cautious or complaisant of the number 
graciously allow, that prayer may have value as a 
liturgical exercise, by its reflex influence; but they all 
agree in ridiculing the unreasonableness of petition 
for divine aid with expectation of an agency to be put 
forth in answer to it. This is, indeed, no new de- 
velopment of unbelief; for scoffers were found in the 
days of Job, of whom he testifies, (xxi : 14, 15:) 
" They say unto God, Depart from us ; for we desire 
not the knowledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty, 
that we should serve him? and what profit should w^e 
have, if we pray unto him?" But of late there has 
been a fresh outbreak of opposition to this universal 
religious rite; as though its absurdity and mischief 
had been set in a new light. 

The physical philosophers have taken the lead in 
this latest assault. Professors Huxley and Tyndall 
follow their captivating popular lectures on science 

(112) 



SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PEATER. 



113 



and tlieir brilliant experiments, with articles in the 
reviews, which qnestion the reality of answers to 
prajer. Their unbelief spreads like contagion, and 
those who have omitted prayer from moral distaste, 
not findino- it congenial with the character of their 
lives, rejoice to be furnished, from respecta,ble sources, 
with a philosophical reason for their neglect. They 
tell us that we must choose between the horns of a 
logical dilemma. Either God does, or he does not, 
intervene in the affairs of men: if he does, and is a 
being of infinite power, wisdom and goodness, prayer 
is unnecessary; since he already knows our wants, 
and is disposed to relieve them: if he does not inter- 
vene, but has framed a perfect system of natural lav/s, 
to whose working he leaves us, it is useless to ask him 
to depart from these wise methods to serve our indi- 
vidual convenience; it is even impious and insulting 
to request it. To this we answer promptly, that God 
does intervene in human affairs, and yet with no 
departure from a perfect plan; since the plan pro- 
vides wisely for such action, on his part, while all 
natural laws are so constituted as to allow of the 
inter-play of supernatural forces. Moreover, his 
previous purpose to intervene does not in the least 
render unnecessary the appointed use of prayer, as an 
appropriate means of moral education for us; which 
is its true design. 

But before we enter into the details of the argu- 
ment, let us inquire why there should be this marked 
hostility to prayer — a rite which is not peculiar to 

5* 



114: PEAYEE ANB ITS EEMAEKABLE AXSWEES. 



Christianity, but enters into all religions, and miglit 
therefore well claim to be a doctrine of natural or 
absolute religion. Tlie assault would seem to be the 
more reckless, in view of the fact that men find in 
prayer such comfort in trial, such strength in weak- 
ness, such refuge from despair, and such a means of 
making spiritual ideas impressive. The explanation 
is, tliat unbelief must w^ork out its necessary logical 
conclusions. Logic knows no compassion. It is a 
matter of reason, not of sensibility. It deals wdth 
consistency, not with feeling. It drives the skeptic 
from point to point in his negations, without mercy 
to him or to others. It necessitates his rejection of 
prayer, lest, in admitting that, he admit, in principle, 
nearly eveiything to which, as an unbeliever, he 
objects. 

For the principle of prayer involves Christianity. 
It starts with the conception of a personal God, in 
opposition to atheism and pantheism. It involves the 
idea of a perpetual and minute divine providence, 
contrary to the assumptions of naturalism. It implies 
a direct intercourse of the soul with God, as of man 
with man, by reason of which there is a divine in- 
fluence to impart wisdom, strength, courage, hope and 
purity, and a divine regulation of outward events to 
adapt them to the wants of petitioning individuals 
and communities. But to admit all this, is to admit 
the wliole doctrine of supernaturalism upon w^hich 
Christianity is based. For, if the love, sympathy and 
personal intervention of God, by inward and outw^ard 



SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PEAYEE. 



115 



influences, be tlius at the call of petitioners, at the 
present time; then what can be more natural and 
reasonable, than the Christian doctrine of interposi- 
tions in the early days, by inspired teachers, and even 
by an incarnation, should that be requisite to meet a 
great moral crisis? The question is no longer one of 
power and principle, but simply of wisdom and 
degree. Prayer thus sets wide open the gate into the 
realm of the supernatural; and once open, who shall 
close it? The divine Spirit in direct intercourse with 
the soul for purposes now needful, prepares one to 
believe that it may have been in direct intercourse 
with the soul of Moses, of David, of Isaiah, of Jesus, 
of Paul, for purposes needful in their days. A per- 
petual inter-play of supernatural forces with the 
natural, such as prayer pre-supposes, gives one also, a 
conception of a supernatural realm, and of a moral 
order, to which what we call nature must be subordi- 
nate. Thus reason suffers no shock, when miracles 
are announced in connection with a divine revelation 
and a process of redemption. 

The temptation to a somewhat devout skeptic to 
admit prayer into his system is indeed great, and the 
old English Deists were disposed to yield the point, as 
the condition of having any system worthy of the 
name of religion. For to acknowledge a God, and then 
to put him out of connection with human affairs, was an 
unprofitable, if not an irrational procedure. But the 
modern skeptic has been taught caution. He sees that 
the concession will cost him dear, logically; that it 



116 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE AITSWERS. 



will plant a germ of faith whicli may grow to an over- 
sliadowing tree, beneatli wliicli skepticism cannot 
tlirive. The native shyness of the skeptic in this 
respect comes ont curiously in the case of Kousseau 
(see Morley's Life of Rousseau, I, p. 75). He had a sen- 
timental recognition of God in connection with natural 
scenery, and, at one time, nsed to begin the day, as 
he tells us, on a hilltop back of his residence, gazing 
at the sunrise, and engaged in a form of worship, 
which did not consist in a vain moving of the lips, 
but in a sincere elevation of the heart to the anthor of 
the tender nature whose beauties lay spread out before 
my eyes." " This act," he observes, " passed rather in 
wonder and contemplation than in requests; and I 
always knew that with the Dispenser of true blessings 
the best means of obtaining those which are needful 
for us is, less to ask, than to deserve them." This was 
pretty well for a man who, at the time, was living in 
the honse of Madame de Warens in immoral relations ! 

It would seem that skepticism cannot abide the at- 
mosphere of real prayer; such as is set forth in the well 
known definition of the "Westminster Assembly of 
divines: " Prayer is the offering up of our desires unto 
God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of 
Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful 
acknowledgment of his mercies." In ascertaining 
whether the Christian doctrine of prayer rests upon a 
foundation of reason, it is well to approach the subject 
gradually, and to gather np the related facts one by 
one. It may be noticed, then; 



SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PEAYEK. 



117 



1. That prayer appears to be a universal instinct, 
wlierever men liave the least conception of a God. 
Guisot, in Ms treatise entitled " L'Eglise et la Societe 
Cliretienne," has a true and eloquent passage on this 
point, which may be rendered in English thus : Alone 
of all beings here below, man prays! Among his 
moral instincts none is more natural, more universal, 
more indestructible than prayer. The child inclines 
to it with eager docility. The old man betakes him. 
self thither, as to a refuge against decay and solitude. 
Prayer comes spontaneously to young lips, which with 
difficulty stammer out the name of God; and to dying 
lips, which no longer have strength to pronounce it. 
Among all nations, celebrated or obscure, civilized or 
barbarous, one meets at every step acts and forms of 
invocation. Wherever men live, in certain circum- 
stances, at certain times, under the control of certain 
impressions of the soul, the eyes are raised, the hands 
clasp, the knees bend, to implore aid or to render 
thanks, to adore or to appease. With transport or 
with fear, publicly or in the secrecy of his heart, it is 
to prayer that man betakes himself, in the last resort, 
to fill up the void of his soul, or to bear the burdens 
of his destiny: it is in prayer that he seeks, when all 
else fails, strength for his weakness, consolation in his 
grief, hope for his virtue." 

The case is this: the idea of God seems naturally 
and instinctively to carry with it the duty and privilege 
of prayer; the one — except by a few would-be philos- 
ophers — is universally associated with and thought to 



118 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 



imply tlie other. This is seen by such a skeptic as 
Mr. Wm. C. Greg, who, in his " Enigmas of Life " 
(p. 249) thus writes: " The instinct of prayer, of appeal 
for help in difficnlty and rescue in peril, is an inevita- 
ble consequence and correlative of belief in God; in a 
Being who can hear and answer, who has made us, 
and who cares for the creatures he has made. It flows 
from the consciousness of our inferiority and his 
superiority, of our helplessness and his power. It is 
an original and nearly irresistible instinct, precisely 
similar to that which makes the child run to the 
mother, and the feeble cling to and entreat the strong. 
We can scarcely imagine its extinction." Professor 
J. Tyndall himself allows the naturalness and almost 
inevitableness of prayer, as a theory^ to every one who 
has faith in God; even while denying that it has proof 
as a fact. In the Contemjjorary Review of 1872, in 
an article on " Science and Religiou," he says: " It is 
matter of experience, that an earthly father, who is at 
the same time wise and tender, listens to the requests 
of his children, and, if they do not ask amiss, takes 
]3leasure in granting their requests. We know, also, 
that this compliance extends to the alteration, within 
certain limits, of the current events of earth! With 
this suggestion offered by our experience, it is no 
departure from scientific method, to place behind 
natural phenomena a universal Father, who, in answer 
to the prayers of his children, alters the currents of 
these phenomena." ^ow this is to say, that as a child 
instinctively calls to the parent for help, so a human 



SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PRATEK. 119 



son! instinctively prays to God tlie heavenly parent. 
The act is an outbirth of creaturely and filial depend- 
ence, and is a spontaneous utterance. 

But nature teaches that every instinct points to a 
corresponding reality; that it springs from a want, 
and leads to a supply. Is there in all nature an aim- 
less, or an unrewarded instinct? The new-born child 
instinctively desires and seeks for milk ; and the foun- 
tain is at hand, in the mother's breast. The instinct 
of the bird impels, it to build a nest, and the nest is no 
sooner finished, than nature produces the eggs, and 
leads to incubation, rewarding the whole seemingly 
blind process, by a brood of young birds. Instincts, 
needs and supplies are indissolubly bound together. 
If this be so, then the instinct of prayer in the human 
soul indicates a divine plan of procedure. It implies 
other coincident facts; it tells us that in some way 
divine power and love are pledged to honor the appeal. 
The reason for such an instinct, also, is everywhere 
obvious ; for human life is full of events which throw 
the soul back on a higher power. Individual knowl- 
edge and ability are limited, and men continually fall 
into difficulties, related often to life's highest interests, 
from which they cannot extricate themselves; when 
but for prayer the soul would sink into utter despair. 
And the broader and deeper our experience^ the more 
complete our dependence is found to be; so that event- 
ually, with souls of the noblest and purest type, to 
breathe is to pray. 

2. In noticeable accord with this primary instinct 



120 PEAYEE A^D ITS EilUAEKABLE AXSWEES. 

15 the fact tliat."in all ages, men liave insisted that 
their prayers were ansvrerecl. It is of little use in 
philosophy, to argue against an ascertained fact; to 
show that an event could not have occurred, after it 
has occurred. Some will remember that the learned 
scientist. Dr. Dionysius Lardner, of England, pub- 
lished an elaborate paper to prove that the Atlantic 
could not be crossed by steam vessels, just as the feat 
was accomplished ; and that in a few weeks he made a 
sudden and a not very honorable fli^lit in a steamer to 
these shores I It is only a joke, when men tell of the 
Frenchman who was so wedded to his theoiy that, 
when told that certain facts contradicted it, he said, 
" so much the worse for the facts I ' ' In the case be- 
fore ns the facts can be ascertained. Prayer is as old 
as the human race, and by this time its effects ought 
to have been thoroughly tested. If it be a delusion, 
void of real power, it should long since have gone into 
disuse. But so far is this from being true, that it was 
never more widely or more earnestly practised. And 
men insist— a strange hallncination, surely, the skeptic 
must Lhi::k — that they receive that for which they 
pray, in instances so many and so marked, as to leave no 
doubt of the agency involved. Here and there a case 
might be explained as a mere coincidence; bnt no such 
disposal can be made of the mass of the facts, in which 
special characteristics in the petitions have found cor- 
respondence in the events. And it is noticeable, that 
those most accustomed to rely on this sonrce of aid 
are those who have the strongest faith in it, and who 



SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PEAYEK. 121 



put it to widest use in meeting the requirements of 
life. 

Of course the test of reality must accord with the 
nature of the case. As prayer is a moral and not a 
mechanical power, it is not to be tested as if it were a 
physical force depending only upon physical antece- 
dents, few in number and within the knowledge of the 
spectators. "We judge of water-power or steam-power 
by the laws of matter; by the number of pounds 
which can be moved in resistance to gravity through 
a given space. There is nothing to be done, but to 
apply the force, and watch for that single result. But 
mind has other laws than matter; and moral power, 
unlike physical, cannot be tested by the production of 
a single outward result on fixed visible conditions. 
Prayer, as we have seen, has numerous relationships 
and many conditions, and only God can know, at the 
time when the petition is outw^ardly offered, whether 
the necessary conditions have been met. Hence it 
may seem to be impotent, when its force has not really 
been invoked, or when the effect has been produced in 
an unanticipated form. For prayer does not imply 
that God will do everything which everybody shall 
ask. That would involve him in unutterable follies 
and contradictions, to his own dishonor and to our 
ruin. But it implies that he who offers it does so 
with a submissive, conditional faith; trusting God to 
do the specified thing, if it be specifically promised, 
and be for the best interests of all concerned: other- 
wise desiring him not to do it, but to substitute such 

6 



122 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 



gift as may be more wisely granted. The prayer being 
thus conditional in spirit, even wlien not so in form, 
may be accepted and answered, v/lien tlie specific object 
is not given. And so a form of prayer ma}^ be accom- 
panied by a state of heart so selfish, nnsnbmissive, or 
mibelieving, as to meet no moral condition, and to 
fail of influence with God. 

Here was the mental confusion of Sir Henry . 
Thomson and of Professor Tyndail, in the famous 
communication to the Contemporary Review, in July, 
1872, which proposed a hospital-test of the power of 
prayer. There can be no objection to the idea that 
.prayer, if a real power, may be tested. Does not the 
Bible appeal to men, to "prove" God with respect to 
his promises? Mr. Tyndail had a right to demand 
that the ^eory of prayer, which he admitted to be 
natural, should present evidence of being 2, fact. His 
words were: "But without verification, a theoretic 
conception is a mere figment of the intellect, and I 
am sorry to find us parting company at this point. 
The region of theory, both in science and theology, 
lies behind the world of the senses; but the verifica- 
tion of theory occurs in the sensible world. To 
check the theory, we have simply to compare the 
deductions from it with the facts of observation." To 
this the Christian fully assents, and will allow prayer 
to stand or fall by such a test. 

Bat Professor Tyndail unfortunately sees fit to add 
these taunting words: "While science cheerfully 
submits to this ordeal, it seems impossible to devise a 



SE33PTIOAL ASSAULTS ON PEAYER. 123 

mode of verification of their theory, which does not 
arouse resentment in theological minds." Not so; 
theologians only object to proposed tests which vio- 
late the very conditions of the theory, and which are 
therefore wholly inappropriate. Professor Tyndall 
should not have fallen into such an error; for, as an ^ 
accomplished lecturer on physical science, and a bril- 
liant experimentalist, he understands the necessity of 
securing with exactness the necessary conditions of 
the pre-announced phenomena. To his care, in this 
respect, and the skill of his able assistant, is his suc- 
cess due. What would he say, if theologians should 
require him to succeed without regard to these condi- 
tions? If they should expect him to produce com- 
bustion without oxygen; or to explode wet gun- 
powder; or to confine electricity without insulation? 
But the moral universe has its laws and conditions, 
as well as the physical, and these must be as rigidly 
observed, in order to the success of moral experi- 
ments.- Let us see whether Sir Henry Thompson's 
proposed test, which Professor Tyndall endorsed, con- 
formed to them. 

Here is the now celebrated proposal: " I ask that 
one single ward or hospital, under the care of first 
rate physicians and surgeons, containing certain 
numbers of patients afflicted with those diseases which 
have been best studied, and of which the mortality 
rates are best known, whether the diseases are treated 
by medical or by surgical remedies, should be, during 
a period of not less than three or five years^ made the 



124 PEATEE AND ITS KEMAKKABLE ANSWEES. 

object of Special prayer bj the whole body of the 
faithful; and that, at the end of that time, the mor- 
tality rates should be compared with the past rates, 
and also with that of other leading hospitals similarly 
well managed, during the same period. Granting 
that time is given and numbers are sufficiently large, 
so as to insure a minimum of error from accidental 
disturbing causes, the experiment will be exhaustive 
and complete." 

Probably it so appeared to the two distinguished 
gentlemen who fathered the scheme; for they were 
thinking of scientific tests of physical forces, and 
they reasoned about prayer, as if it operated mechan- 
ically ; as if it were a head of water, or a pressure of 
steam, to be turned upon wheel or piston — so many 
petitions, for such a length of time, for such a number 
of patients! In other words, they quietly ignored 
the spiritual laws and conditions which the Scriptural 
theory of prayer implies. For prayer pre-supposes a 
moral kingdom, of which it is a leading instrumental- 
ity, and in which outward results are wholly subordi- 
nated to those of a spiritual character. Prayer must 
therefore spring from a spirit of faith, love, humility, 
submission, obedieuce and perseverance, and must 
desire that which shall be for the good of the peti- 
tioner and for the general welfare. The proposal in 
question violated the legitimate principles of verifica- 
tion, by paying no attention to what God declares to 
be essential. 

(1.) It gravely asked^ what could not be secured — 



SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PRAYEE. 125 

a ward or hospital, whose patients should be specia'^ly 
prayed for " by the whole body of the fdtliful " for 
three or five years ! But there is no possible way of 
uniting the special prayers of Christendom upon a 
single institution exclusively, that its results may be 
compared with those of other institutions. The idea 
itself is abhorrent to the nature of prayer, which is a 
spirit of universal sympathy and love, even when it 
has a specific object. How could Christians, praying 
for unknown cases in a distant hospital, withhold 
prayer from the more numerous unfortunates in nearer 
institutions; and that for a period of three or five 
years, and in the face of the Scriptural injunction that 
"supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of 
thanks be made for all men"? The suggestion is pre- 
posterous; while there could be no means of ascer- 
taining whether the experiment, if nominally under- 
taken, was actually carried out. For surely it may be 
supposed, that the patients in the other institutions 
would have anxious friends to pray specially for them; 
and that many of the patients would pray for them- 
selves, and all the more earnestly, should they learn 
that two men of science had arranged with the Christ- 
ian world that no outside petitions should ascend! 

(2.) The proposal encounters this moral difiiculty: 
that God has not been wont to put forth his power to 
gratify cariosity; and that, in his Word, he has put 
himself under limitations of human faith. Prayer 
has its long established place in the ordinary economy 
of life, in connection with which every sincere and 



126 PEATEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE AIJSWEES. 



reverential inquirer may test its power for himself. 
To drag it forth for a public spectacle, at the dictation 
of skeptics, to be apjjlied to what they shall consider 
to be proper objects, is not a proceeding warranted by 
the nature of the case, or by the precepts of the Bible. 
It will be remembered, that, even in the days whea 
miracles were specially appropriate, Jesus, though 
working them daily, with great variety and publicity, 
in all parts of the land, yet refused on a certain occas- 
ion, to meet the demand of the unbelieving and scoff- 
ing Pharisees for a sign from heaven." (Matt, xvi: 
1-4.) He also declined to perform one for the grati- 
fication of King Herod (Luke xxiii:8,9); and of his 
^-isit to Xazaretli it is said, that " he did not many 
mighty works there because of their unbelief." 

(3.) The proposal ignores the condition in prayer, 
of submission as to the answer to be returned. It 
falsely assumes that when a specific request is made, 
it must always be granted, or prayer is a failure. But 
God has never promised in connection with j^i'ayer to 
make our ignorance the law of procedure, instead of 
his T^-isdom. Hence he has not promised to heal all 
the sick for whom his people may pray ; or any definite 
proportion of them. It is not the province of prayer, 
to countervail death, or to usurp the place of medical 
skill; but only to secure such aid, spiritual and phys- 
ical, in the case of illness, as the j)articular relations of 
each case may make best. Hence, at such times, God 
allows us to pray conditionally, with mingled faith and 
submission ; and the prayer often meets with signal 



SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PEAYEE. 



127 



answers, in the way of recovery, when such answer can 
be made to fit into the moral discipline of life with 
happy effect. It would be presumptuous, therefore, to 
select a given ward or hospftal, which must include 
cases of the most varied moral conditions and relation- 
ships, and to insist that these shall be subjected to the 
one use of proving the value of prayer in securing re- 
covery from disease. This would be to assume God's 
place, and to substitute dictation for prayer. Who is 
authorized to say that the highest interests require 
that those patients should certainly or in large propor- 
tion recover, while the patients in other institutions 
should be left without divine aid? 

(4.) It .may be added, that Messrs. Thomson and 
Tyndall could give no assurance, that a favorable result 
of the experiment would be accepted by skeptics as a 
demonstration of the real power of prayer. Exper- 
ience shows, that these are not much influenced by out- 
ward events which seem to others to indicate divine 
power. The marvels of creation fail to convince some 
of them that God even exists. The miracles of Jesus 
wrought no conviction in the minds of his determined 
opponents. When they could not deny the facts, they 
referred them to diabolic agency. It was a deep in- 
sight into the human heart that led him to the repre- 
sentation of Abraham, re]3lying thus to the prayer of the 
ricli man, to send Lazarus to warn his living brothers: 
"They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear 
them. And he said, E'ay, father Abraham, but if one 
went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And 



128 PEATER AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEKS. 



he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the 
prophets, neither will they he persuaded though one 
rose from the dead." Modern skeptics, as did the 
ancient ones, deceive themselves, when they stand in 
front of the Crucified, and say: "If he be the King 
of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and 
we will believe on him." In the case of marked suc- 
cess, in the particular hospital prayed for, the uube- 
lievers would claim that this was accidental, and due to 
unknown natural causes; or that it arose from a more 
salubrious situation; or from better ventilation; or 
from the excited imagination and hope of the patients, 
who knew that they were being prayed for by the 
Christian world, and the proportionate depression of 
other patients, for whom no prayer was offered; or 
from some unfairness of physicians favorable to the 
triumph of Christianity. To suppose that men, who 
are unmoved by the evidence of the power of prayer 
from the whole history of the human race, would be 
convinced by any result of the experiment proposed, is 
a large draft upon one's credulity. 

5. The moral phenomena of the case, as we have 
seen in a previous chapter, equally sustain the reason- 
ableness of prayer; prayer is an indispensable means 
of moral training, and is such an arrangement as God 
would necessarily enjoin for the closest uuion of his 
rational creatures with himself. There is no other 
such powerful means of giving impressiveness to the 
being and agency of God. The habitual act affects 
the imagination and the heart, and leads to the asso- 



SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PEAYER. 129 

ciation of the divine love, wisdom and will with the 
events of life. At the same time, it brings out our 
noblest aspirations, subdues our baser tendencies, and 
preserves us from discouragement and despair amid 
the attacks upon our virtue, and amid the trials of 
our lot. 

Here is the reason that the church resists the infidel 
assault on prayer. It is not that ecclesiastical or 
priestly power may be made secure ; for of all religious 
rites none is so individual as prayer, carrying the soul, 
as it does, past the priest, and past the church, directly 
to God himself. But it is felt that he who would 
destroy the faith of men in prayer, little as he may 
suspect it, is the enemy of mankind. He would rob 
them of their greatest help in weakness, their greatest 
comfort in sorrow, their greatest hope in danger. 
This fact comes out strikingly, when those who, in 
prosperous days, have undervalued and neglected 
prayer, in time of calamity fall upon their knees, and 
realize that God might as well not be, as not to hear 
the prayers of his distressed children. Thus we can 
understand that God should institute prayer, not for 
his own information, or as a stimulus to his benevolent 
feeling, but for our spiritual education. "We could 
better do without the gifts, than fail of the moral train- 
ing which is secured by their reception through prayer. 
Therefore Jesus said : " Men ought always to pray, and 
not to faint"; and Paul wrote to the churches, to 
" pray without ceasing." 

We come then to an important inquiry: if prayer 



130 PEATER AXD ITS BEM AUK ABLE Ai^-SWERS. 



be a universal ir.stinct, if in all ages men Lave claimed 
that they had experience of its power with God, and 
if it is an indispensable means of moral training, on 
what grounds do the skeptics object to it? Why, 
especipJl J, do certain scientific writers make opposition 
to it? It is because thej totally misconceive its office 
and methods. They strangely imagine that Christian 
people hold its object to be, to inform an omniscient 
Being; or to persuade a God of love; or to induce an 
infinitely wise Euler to change the plan of his universe ! 
Pope, in his Essay on Man, introduces this objection 
in the lines : 

" Think we, like some weak prince, th.' Eternal Cause 
Prone for his fav'rites to reverse his laws ? 

When the loose mountain trembles from on high, 
Shall gravitation cease, if you go by?" 

But we hold no such theory. God knows our need, 
he is already compassionate, and he will not swerve 
from plans which are necessarily perfect. It is because 
he is wise and good, that he has made prayer a condi- 
tion of our prosperity, and has provided a place for it 
in his plans, as truly as he has for the law of gravita- 
tion. The scientists must broaden their outlook, and 
learn that above the physical universe is the moral; 
the former being quite subordinate to the latter, and 
in fact, but the platform on which it operates; and 
that each is true to its own laws. God, who is at the 
head of each, has ordained their res^DCCtive arrange- 
ments to work in harmony, and he can use prayer, as 



SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PKAYER. 131 



a means of training his rational creatures, witlioiit dis- 
turbance in either reahn. For when we pass from 
the office of prayer to the method of its answer, there 
is no insuperable difficulty. The fact should be cred- 
ited, on sufficient evidence, even if the method should 
be wrapped in inscrutable mystery. Science is con- 
stantly accepting facts which it cannot as yet explain ; 
and certainly ignorance is not to be made a substitute 
for knowledge, as is done, when men think that not to 
know how God can do a certain thing, is the same as 
to know that he cannot do it ! 

A very curious distinction Professor Tyndall tries 
to make, at this point, between physical and spiritual 
phenomena. He will not admit that, in answer to 
prayer, God intervenes to produce physical effects; 
but he thinks that prayer may avail for spiritual aid. 
He says that, " in its purer forms, prayer hints at dis- 
ciplines which few of us can neglect without moral 
loss;" and that "it may strengthen the heart to meet 
life's losses." Bat then he asserts that "no s^ood can 
come of giving it a delusive value, by claiming for it 
a power in physical nature." ]N"ow one cannot w^ell 
understand the philosophic ground for this distinction. 
A metaphysical philosopher might indeed exactly 
reverse the statement, with much greater plausibility. 
He might affirm that, knowing from constant experi- 
ence the power of free will over the laws of matter, 
and the ease with which it can overrule, or combine, 
or counterbalance them, to work out its own results, 
he was ready to concede that prayer might lead God 



132 PEAYER AND ITS EE3.IARKABLE ANSWERS. 



to produce physical effects ; but that the real difficulty 
lay in understanding how God could answer prayer 
by producing mental and moral changes, where he 
would have to deal not with dead matter, but with 
living spirits; not with necessitated forces, but with 
freedom itself. What could Mr. Tyndall reply, except 
to withdraw also the spiritual realm from the province 
of prayer? And all because he will not leave the ruts 
of physical science, and pass to a higher class of phe- 
nomena with their superior laws. 

An illustration of the principle involved. Professor 
Tyndall himself indicates, as he notices in a passage 
already quoted, that a father's will controls physical 
phenomena. Thus a child asks for an apple; and 
he steps to the orchard, shakes a tree, picks up the 
apple which falls, brings'it into the house, and gives it 
to the boy. In moving his own body, in shaking the 
tree, in picking up the apple, in handing It to the boy, 
he answers prayer by producing physical phenomena. 
And it is done in accordance with natural law, which 
is directed by superior spirit-force, as by turns he op- 
poses and uses the law of gravity. I^or 'can he ex- 
plain the phenomenon of this subjection of matter to 
win. Life is full of these manifestations of the play 
of spirit-force among material . forces ; as though to 
teacli us, that much more surely and easily must the 
Infinite Spirit touch and use the laws of nature, to 
which he has given efficacy, and thus be able to an- 
swer prayer without interruption of natural law. That 
God does this invisibly, while we act visibly^ does not 



SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PEAYEB. 



133 



change the principle involved; and then the action of 
the human will is as invisible as that of God. In both 
cases we see the effect onlj. 

In the class of answers covered by the proposed hos- 
pital-test, the cure of disease, the answer to prayer 
need suspend no natural law. God may operate upon 
disease through the laws of life, the secret of which 
he possesses, with or without the instrumentality of 
medicine; or he may secure the sending for the best 
physician; or he may bring to notice the most appro- 
priate remedy; or he may lead to the fulfillment of 
some other natural condition of a restoration to health. 
The result is brought about in answer to the prayer 
equally, whatever be the method God shall be pleased 
to employ. That may be indirect, as well as direct, 
for the Bible gives us reason to believe that prayers 
are often answered by angelic agency — which is ex- 
pressly mentioned in the deliverance of Daniel from 
the lions, and of Peter from prison. Unseen by us, 
angels, in the use of natural law, may work effects not 
more inexplicable to our ignorance, than is our trans- 
mission of telegraphic news over the wires, to a sav- 
age. If Professor Tyndall, by his superior knowledge 
of chemical and mechanical laws, can do that which 
to uneducated men appears miraculous, why should 
he doubt that Gabriel may possess a knowledge of 
such forces as far beyond his science, as that is beyond 
the apprehension of a child; and that God may use 
angelic agency to work out answers to prayer in con- 
nection with physical phenomena? And this idea 



134 PEAYER AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

accords with what the Bible reveals as to the existence 
and ministry of angels. 

It is furthermore to be considered by the modern 
scientific objectors to prayer, that their favorite theory 
of evolution or development furnishes a close analogy 
to one of the theories advanced to explain the harmony 
of prayer with natural laws. The development-theory 
teaches, that the unknown, mysterious First Cause, 
if such there be, formed the universe, not by distinct 
creations of diiferent objects, but by the production 
of countless initial atoms, in which inhered certain 
forces or tendencies, the combined influence of which 
has developed by necessary law, from stage to stage, 
the variety of existence which we see in animate and 
inanimate nature. Now these numberless existences 
stand related to each other, and are mutually so 
dependent that the non-production, or different form 
of almost any one of them, would have prevented, or 
greatly modified the production of the others; so that 
it seems incredible that they should all appear in the 
right time and place to be serviceable to each other, 
through mere blind forces. But the development 
theorists assure us, that this only adds to the com- 
pleteness and wisdom of the original plan; and that 
their idea is consequently more honorable to Grod than 
the ordinary idea of creation by successive fiats; 
since it represents him as seeing the end from the 
beginning, and as able to form this marvelous uni- 
verse, by so pre-arranging the play of independent 
forces, as they wrought in countless parallel lines, that 



SKEPTICAL ASSAULTS ON PSATEE. 



135 



all tlie results, at any given date, slioiild have tlie 
proper relations of harmony with each other. 

We will not panse to dispute this; he it so. Such 
philosophers ought then to find it easy to believe, that 
prayers and their answers formed part of this very 
system of pre-airangement. For if God could so 
adjust material forces, as that the combination of 
results should work advantageously in every direction, 
of its own nature, surely he could, with similai- fore- 
sight and skill, arrange that prayers should be occa- 
sioned by one set of phenomena, and that answers to 
them should be provided at the right moment by 
appropriate forces. This is only the development 
theory applied to morals and theology; and the sci- 
entists should rejoice in the added scope. J^either 
should they be envious that the theologians, centuries 
since, anticij)ated them in this explanation; as was 
done by those who sought to harmonize the universal- 
ity of the divine purposes with the duty of prayer. 
And possibly it may help to reconcile them to it, that 
the distinguished mathematician Euler, in his " Let- 
ters to a German Princess," upon science, clearly sets 
it forth in these words: ""Wlien God established the 
course of the universe, and arranged all the events 
that must come to pass in it, he paid attention to all 
the circumstances which should accompany each 
event, and particularly to the dispositions, desires and 
p5*ayers of every intelligent being; and the arrange- 
ment of all events was disp^.sed in perfect harmony 
with all these circumstances. When, therefore, a man 



136 PRAYEE AND ITS EEMAKKABLE ANSWERS. 

addresses to God a prayer worthy to be heard, that 
prayer was already heard from all eternity; and the 
Father of mercies arranged the world expressly in 
favor of that prayer, so that the accomplishment 
should be a consequence of the natural course of 
events. It is thus that God answers the prayers of 
men without working a miracle." 

Thus, view the skeptical objections to prayer on 
whatever side we may, they prove to be as unworthy 
of a philosophic as they do of a religious mind. The 
Bible doctrine vindicates itself to reason as well as to 
faith, and the Psalmist is justified in his declaration: 
" The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his 
ears are open unto their cry." 

Ob, this is blessing, this is rest! 
Into thine arms, O Lord, I flee ; 
I hide me in Ihy faithful breast, 
And pour out all my soul to thee. 
There is a host dissuading me ; 
But all their voices far above, 
I hear thy words : ' Oh, taste and see 
The comfort of a Savior's love.' 
And, hushing every adverse sound, 
Songs of defense my soul surround, 
As if all saints encamped about 
One trusting heart pursued by doubt. 

^ H< ^ ^ ^ ^ 4: 

O, tenderness ! O, truth divine ! 
Lord, I am altogether thine, 
I have bowed^ down ; I need not flee ; 
• Peace, peace is mine in trusting thee. 

—A. L. Waring. 



CHAPTEH YIII. 



BIBLE-ANSWEifiS TO PRATER— OLD TESTAMENT. 

The Bible wisely teaches by example as well as by 
precept, and on its pages we Und the biography illus- 
trating the promises, and history showing the fulfill- 
ment of prophecy. We might then expect that it 
would give us facts as well as theory on the subject 
of prayer. It does so, and the difficulty is, to make a 
selection such as the author's limited space and defi- 
nite purpose require. 

Before calling the reader's attention to specific 
cases, it is well to notice general declarations put 
upon record by one who had great experience in this 
respect. David, because of his devotional nature, and 
of his many and severe trials, was much addicted to 
prayer, and the book of Psalms contains not a few of 
his supplications made in seasons of distress. What 
is now to be observed is, that he distinctly affirms 
that his prayers had been answered in a signal man- 
ner. These are some of his grateful words to that 
effect: " I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he 
heard me out of his holy hill." Ps. iii:4:. "In my 
distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my 
God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my 
cry came before him, even into his ear. -J^- * ^ He 



138 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

sent from above, tie took me, lie drew me out of many 
waters." xviii: 6-17. " O Lord, my God, I cried unto 
thee, and tliou hast healed me." xxx:2. "I sought 
the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all 
my fears." xxxiv: 4. " I waited patiently for the Lord, 
and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry." xl:l. 
" If I regard iniquity in my heart, iSe Lord will not 
hear me: but verily God hath heard me; he hath 
attended to the voice of my praj^er. Blessed be God, 
who hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy 
from me." Ixvi: 18-20. "I love the Lord, because he 
hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because 
he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call 
upon him as long as I live." cvi:l, 2. It would 
appear from such expressions, that the large experi- 
ence of David in the matter of prayer had been emi- 
nently satisfactory. And if that be so, how is the 
skeptic to allege anything to the contrary? For David 
was not reciting a theory, but thankfully recording 
facts. He had put prayer to a thorough test, for 
many years, and the experiment was a complete 
success. 

The answers mentioned by the inspired writers are 
numerous. There is space only for a few of the more 
marked, which illustrate classes of cases. We will 
attend first to the Old Testament. 

1. Let us begin with a prayer for personal deliver- 
ance from imminent danger. Jacob had deceived his 
aged and blind father, Isaac, and obtained the blessing 
which was intended for his elder brother, Esau; hav- 



BIBLE- ANSWEES OLD TESTAMENT. 139 



ing also, on a previous occasion, taken advantage of 
tlie reckless Esau's hunger, to sell him some pottage 
at the price of his birthright. He fled from the 
country, for his life, hearing of Esau's deadly threats. 
After an absence of many years, during which he had 
grown rich in flocks and herds, he ventured to return, 
and, on coming to the confines of the land, heard that 
Esau was advancing to meet him, at the head of four 
hundred warriors. Consciousness of guilt, and a 
remembrance of his injured brother's wrath filled him 
with fear, lest this should be the hour of bloody 
revenge. Resistance would be unavailing, and his 
imagination pictured a scene of plunder and slaughter, 
in which he, his two wives, his children, and his 
servants would be the victims. In this terrible emer- 
gency the night fell about him. Esau Vv'ould be there 
in the morning; his only hope was in God; his only 
salvation must be prayer! And upon the true princi- 
ple, that prayer is not a substitute for appropriate 
human efibrt, but a means of rendering it successful, 
he took measures to propitiate Esau, and then, sending 
his family over the river Jabbok, remained alone in 
the darkness, to plead with God. 

We can understand the earnestness, and even agony, 
of the prayer, when everything was at stake; as also the 
arguments he would use. Indeed a prayer of the pre- 
vious day furnishes an outline of the petition. See Gen. 
xxxii: 9-12. We thus learn that he fell back upon two 
arguments — that God was pledged to him by the gen- 
eral covenant made with Abraham and Isaac, and by 



14() i'RAYKil AND JTH HEMABKABLE ANSWEKS. 



viBj'oTi at Jietlioi, at tiie time of hiB fligljt to Mcho- 

]>o0xrnla, arjfJ on Ifi^; or*/-.;) lort f>r }j1h K'^tting out to 
roiurfj. Tfjir: v/;) . finn :^ - ou n^J. uporj w}jj oh a rational 
faiUj ooulo' pJ^irit jiLf;;f'. 11', ;);:/> oorjfeBHcd, Ijif? own 
urj worUnnoHHj arjd with gratitude acknowfodgod w}jat 
Ijad aln^ady booj) dono for Ijirn. A;, jjf; waH thus 
p^■;lvI^^7' ^'fiH fi u f/) !>1 i rtg fiirrjnoJf, iri t'l'; rn id n "vlit dark- 
rj(;r;H, ho wa;, f'.oriL^douH oi* a pro;-;onoo v/itfj liirn, a;, of" a 
Ijurrian forrn. v/liioh })0 rooogDJzod m,;, adivino rnaDj- 
fo;:f;i,f,)ori • ;i,rid iio hud iiold of [,'iO [lorjvon. to irirint 
upon a f>h)ivHir)g. 'I'jjo Koorning ;/jan istruggjod f,o 
df;f>:ir[, and wroHth;d with Jaoof>, to break away. Ihit 
Idio p;if,riaroh fjiin;/; to hirn. doHperatoJjj ovon till tiio 
(Jay hogarj t<> dawn, and alter IjIb thigli had heerj dis- 
Joeatedj Hayirjg: "I will jjot Jet thee go except thoii 
bJcHB r/ie!" 

Jle waH rewarded witfi vif.fory! ^rod graelouHly 
uHowed hirriBfjir to i>o ovor^:orfjo }>■/ l]i<: ifnportunate 
pel itiofier; whih^, an an en^ton r;i,7orn<;nt, f/j otJierB 1x> 
iujitate hin (;;{Mrn[>!o. lie ^diMnpod llie patriareij'B uarne 
fron) one whjh-Ji ooni fnotnoi-atod lii;-; Bin, to one wliif^h 
i rn friortah'/ed Ijii-; vi^-.tory, "And lie ;.;j,id unto liirn, 
\VI);it I;; fJiy n^ifne'^ And fio i.u.i'l, ,Sii[;[>hui for Maf^ob.) 
A fid h<; ;>;ijd, Tliy name id);i,ll i^e f.allod no more Snp- 
plauter (daeof>,j l>>ut i'^rinee of God nr.rael;; for a;; a 
prinet; }ja;;t tfiou j>ower witlj (/od nnd v/Iti) men, ;i.nd 
haBt j)revaihj(J." And ho tlie narrje h',r;i,ei, whieli 
paHBed iirst to the fJionen n;dj"on, Jtnd thf^rt to the 
whole (Jliriistiaii eliureh, i;-. a perpetual reminder of 



mUMC-ANt-nVKlfri OM) TKHrAMriNT. 



Ml 



tlic powor of iin|)()rl,iiiinl,o r. Sc.-i red)' li:ul Mu; 

:us.siii'iiiu',o of H;ii'ol,y hccu i>-iven, llinii Iamui seen in 
lJi(! (lisl.'incc,, llio licnd ol' Ii'im ni iiK d iiumi, iii()iiiil('<l 
on cinm^lri, probnJtly, :iiul s\V('('|mii,<.*; dow ii like n, in(u!(M'n 
l);ui(l of IUhIoiuii. Iliil, lo! when iJicy rcncluHl 
li(^l|)lt\srt <j;Touj) of fhu'oh, in^lejul of (li-nAviiii>' tlicir 
Bwonla and l)o^Mnnin<^- tlio sliiu^'liUn", Mum (|iii('l,ly 
fitoppod, wliilo l^^HiUi r;i,n to incot liis broMicr, niul 
oiribnu'xHl liini, niid loll on IiIh nook, niul kis^unl liiiii, 
luid tlioy wopU" And bo, in anBWor to pniyor, iratri- 
cidai Iiidrod \v;us turnod into iValornid lovo! if, i'h not 
eiirpri^iini;' l,lia,l., in (>V(>i-y BnccocHlino- a,i2,'iw)(' tlio cliiircli, 
tliiB Bcono at Piuiiol (or (Jod'B-l'aco,) Iuib <>;ivoii lom^ to 
tlio pi'jiyoi-B of boIiovorB, n,nd Iuvb introdnccnl into rcli 
ii;'i(»ns |)liraBtM)loi>"y tlio wordn " vvihissIJ iiii!;- in j>r:i,)'(M-."" 
I*'i-(»ni iJiiri n:ii'rati\(^ it \v;i,h tli;i.t OluirlcB WoBloy i\vc\v 
liiw inw[)ii'n,lion Cor tluit inarvolouri, Bpiritiial |)ocMn, tli(5 
lirBt and tbird BtanzaB of wbicli aro tlioBc: 

*'(]!()in(>, () Miou li-!i,v('I('r, uiikiiovvii, 
Wlioin slill I lioUl, bill, ciuuiol, soo; 

My company bclbro luis !j;()iu', 
And I lun Icfl, iiloiu! vvilh Ihvc: 

Willi lIuH' nil iiii'h'' I mean lo .slay, 

And vvrcslld Mil llu! bi'caJi of (la,y. 

" In viiin iliou jst ru <»;,!' U'.^l' l<> '"'"(Hi; 

T ncvtM* will unlooMc iny liold: 
Art, Mioii ilic Ma,ii IJiai died (or nioV 

'Vho, H(!c',i'(!t, of l,liy l()v(i iinlbid; 
WnirtMinj'', I will not lot thoo go, 
'Till I l,hy niinu^, lliy natures know." 

iJ. Jacob i)r;iyod in bin own in'oat pciril : lot ub take 



142 PEATER AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 

an instance of success in prayer for others. Moses was 
eminent as an intercessor. Seldom is there a record 
of his praying for himself. Perhaps it was because 
he was a distinguished type of Christ, the great medi- 
ator and intercessor, that we find him so often suppli- 
cating in behalf of those in distress or danger. The 
point to be noticed is, that he had special power in 
this respect. For whomsoever he prayed, an answer of 
mercy came. Thus wlien Pharoah was suffering under 
the successive judgments of God, and, at each step of 
the discipline, agonizingly besought Moses to pray for 
his relief, Moses did so, and secured the withdrawal 
of the plague. When the Israelites went forth from 
Egypt, his imploring cry for deliverance from the pur- 
suing monarch, divided the Bed Sea for their safe pas- 
sage. And so, on each fresh emergency of their life 
in the desert, his constant petition brought the needed 
relief. 

The culmination came, however, on those two sol- 
emn occasions, when the life of the whole nation was 
at stake, because of their rebellion and ingratitude 
toward God, and sentence had apparently gone forth 
against them for their destruction, together with 
almost a prohibition to Moses to intercede for them. 
Thus when they worshiped the golden calf at the 
very foot of Sinai, where the second commandment 
had been thundered in their ears, God said to Moses 
(Deut. ix: 14): "Let me alone, that I may destroy 
them, and blot out their name from under heaven; 
and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater 



BIBLE- ANSWERS — OLD TESTAMENT. 143 



than tliej." Here was everything to discourage peti- 
tion in their behalf. The people deserved destruction; 
God seemed to have decreed their doom; Moses was 
apparently bidden not to pray against it; and provis- 
ion was made to fulfill the pledges to Abraham and 
the other patriarchs, by raising np out of the posterity 
of Moses himself the promised nation. Thus rever- 
ence, fear, faith and personal ambition might all be 
said to withhold Moses from intercession. But love 
for those threatened with death triumphed over every 
other consideration, and he had such confidence that 
God would not be displeased with prayer which came 
from a self-sacrificing and compassionate spirit, that 
even when three thousand had already fallen (Ex. xxxii : 
25-32), he went up to the mount, and said: " Oh, this 
people have sinned a great sin, and have m.ade them 
gods of gold. Yet now if thou wilt forgive their sin — 
(do so) ; and if not, blot me, I pray thee out of thy book 
which thou hast written." And he fell down before 
the Lord, fasting and interceding for forty days (Deut. 
ix: 18) till, as he v/rites it, "the Lord hearkened unto 
me at that time also." 

The other occasion, equally note-worth}^, was that 
of their refusal to enter Canaan, on the report of the 
spies, wlien, as Moses records the occurreuce (Deut. 
ix: 23-29): "I fell down before the Lord, forty days 
And forty nights, as I fell down at the first; because 
the Lord had said that he would destroy you." At 
this time his three arguments were; that God after 
having done so much for his people, and borne so long 



144 PEATER Amy ITS KEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 

with them, should not now destroy them; that he 
should show mercy for the sake of his pious servants, 
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, their fathers, and not re- 
gard simply the sin of the present generation; and 
that he mnst not farnish occasion for the Egyptians 
to think that he was unable to carry his people into 
the promised land. And again he succeeded. The 
case stands as a monument of the value of intercessory 
prayer, and should encourage Christian patriots to 
pray for their country, and pious souls to pray for the 
reviving of religion in a time of declension, and every 
saint to pray for sinners in danger of perdition. 

In all this, Moses is a character of special interest, 
because he was a type of Christ, the Great Intercessor, 
who " is able to save them to the uttermost, that come 
to God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make interces- 
sion for them." We read in the epistle to the He- 
brews, that " Moses verily was faithful in all his house, 
as a servant, for a testimony of those things which 
were to be spoken after." It is not surprising, then, 
that the same poetic pen, which was moved to apply 
so happily the scene at Peniel, has brought out, in 
words which have thrilled with hope thousands of sor- 
rowing souls, the grand fact of the intercession of our 
High Priest. 

"Arise, my soul, arise ; 

Shake off thy guilty fears ; 
The bleeding sacrifice 
In thy behalf appears : 
Before the throne my surety stands ; 
My name is written on his hands. 



BIBLE- ANSWERS OLD TESTAMENT. 



145 



" He ever lives above, 

For me to intercede ; 
His all-redeeming love, 

His precious blood to plead ; 
His blood atoned for all our race. 
And sprinkles now the throne of grace. 

" Five bleeding wounds he bears, 
Received on Calvary; 
They pour effectual prayers ; 
They strongly speak for me : 
; Forgive him, O forgive, they cry, 
Nor let that ransomed sinner die. 

" The Father hears him pray — 

His dear Anointed One: 
He cannot turn away 

The presence of his Son; 
His Spirit answers to the blood, 
And tells me I am born of God. 

" My God is reconciled, 

His pardoning voice I hear; 
He owns me for his child, 

I can no longer fear : 
With confidence I now draw nigh, 
And Father, Abba Father, cry." 

3. Let the next case be one of parental petition 
and 2^^evalence. Hannali was the devout wife of 
Elkanah, who loved her devotedly. But the years of 
their married life passed, and she bore him no child. 
This was a natural grief, and to an Oriental wife was a 
sore reproach. Hannah felt it the more, because 
Elkanah had another wife, by whom he had numerous 
sons and daughters, and who taunted her with barren- 

7 



146 PRATEK AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 



ness. On one occasion of the jearlj visit to the tab- 
ernacle, Hannah's long accnmulating desire and grief 
inspired an agonized prayer to God for help, accom- 
panied by a solemn vow, that the child that shonld be 
given her, shonld be dedicated to divine nse, as a token 
of her gratitncle. She would not retain him at home 
as a gratification to maternal pride and fondness, but 
she would bring him to the tabernacle, and leave him 
there with the high priest, Eli, to be trained for reli- 
gious work. Her agitation was such, as she whispered 
her prayers, so that others might not hear, that Eli 
mistook her condition for tha,t of intoxication ; but on 
hearing her statement — "^N^o, m^y lord, I am a woman 
of a sorrowful spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor 
strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the 
Lord," he prophetically said: " Go in peace, and the 
God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast 
asked of him." " So the woman went her way, and 
did eat, and her countenance was no more sad." Tlie 
prayer thus born of sorrow, importunity and faith 
was signally answered. A son was given unto her, 
and she performed her vow by taking him to Shiloh, 
and leaving him with Eli, as soon as he was old enough 
to do without her daily care. Then she broke forth 
into a sublime prophetic song of triumph, which 
formed the model of Mary's similar song at the con- 
ception of the Messiah. The child became the dis- 
tinguished Samuel, the last of the Judges, and the 
founder of the school of the prophets, whose name 
was venerated by the Israelites, next to tb^t <}f Moses, 



BIBLE-ANSWEES — OLD TESTAMENT. 147 

for his services to tlie nation and for tlie power of his 
intercessory prayers. See Ps. xcix: 6, Jer. xv: 1. 

Here is the encouragement to parental piety and 
faith. Prayer should begin even before the birth of a 
child, and the child, v^hen received, should be held for 
the Lord's service, in such way as he may appoint, in 
the spirit of genuine consecration. The prayer thus 
offered will be heard. Many a son has in a similar 
way been furnished to the Christian ministry, or di- 
rected to other means of extensive usefulness. 

4. Let us now pass to a prayer for the vindication 
and revival of true religion. After the secession of 
the ten tribes, and the setting up of the separate King- 
dom of Israel, idolatry, in the form of the worship of 
the golden calves, was introduced as a matter of state- 
policy. When Ahab took as his queen, the handsome 
and haughty Jezebel, the daughter of the Phenician 
monarch, she introduced Baal-worship as the court- 
religion. Under such influences the worship of Jeho- 
vah declined almost to extinction. Then appeared 
Elijah, in all the zeal and courage of an inspired re- 
former, bent upon securing a revival of the true reli- 
gion and a recovery of the people from their apostacy. 
Prayer occupied a large place in his plans; for the case 
was desperate. He had to contend with depraved pop- 
ular taste and passion, and with a determined opposi- 
tion from the weak Ahab under the control of the 
relentless and capable Jezebel. 

His first endeavor was to convince the king and the 
people that Jehovah alone was the true God, by a judg- 



"148 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

ment which should come at his prayer, and should be 
removed only at his intercession, Ajid so he asked 
that rain should be withheld; which was done, season 
after season, for three years and a half, till the drought 
brought the land to the verge of destruction. The 
king, in his despair of other relief, sent in every direc- 
tion, even to neighboring countries, to find Elijah, 
who had withdrawn from view. (1 Kings, xviii : 10.) 
The time had now come for the prayer-test between 
Jehovah and Eaal, on his success in which the prophet 
relied to secure the reviving of the true religion; and 
so he induced the king to gather to Mount Carmel, 
nine hundred prophets of Eaal and of the groves " 
(or rather of Asherah, a female deity associated with 
Baal), whom he alone confronted, in the name of Je- 
hovah. The test was to be, to see which deity, in an- 
swer to prayer, would send down fire, to consume a 
sacrifice. 

A scene worthy of being depicted by the highest 
order of art was then witnessed. For many successive 
hours, in the presence of the king and of thousands 
of spectators, the idolatrous prophets wildly called on 
Eaal, and " cut themselves with knives and lancets till 
the blood gushed out upon them," while Elijah taunted 
them with their vain appeals, and bade them cry more 
loudly. When finally no response came, he repaired 
the broken-down altar of Jehovah with twelve stones, 
emblematic of the tribes of the chosen people, laid on 
it the sacrifice, saturated the wood with barrel upon 
barrel of water, and then prayed for the descending 



BIBLE-ANSWEES OLD TESTAMENT. 



149 



fire; saying, "Hear me, O Jehovah, hear me; that 
this people may know that thou art Jehovah God, and 
that thou hast turned their heart back again." The 
fire fell, and the people shouted; "Jehovah, he is the 
God ! Jehovah, he is the God ! " And in a few hours 
after, the long- withheld rain descended in torrents. In 
this case, the interests to be promoted were public re- 
ligious interests, and the prayer was as when, in a time 
of declension at the present day, God's people plead 
for a revival. And lest we should reason that Elijah 
was so peculiar a man, and was called to so peculiar a 
work, that he could be no example to us, James wrote 
in his epistle : " The effectual, fervent prayer of a 
righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man sub- 
ject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly 
that it might not rain,'' etc. Hence when we find the 
cause of God languishing, we are authorized to ask 
and to expect such form of interposition as will most 
efPectually vindicate religion. As fire is a symbol of 
the Holy Spirit, the descending fire of Elijah's day, 
may well become the descending power of the Spirit 
in our day. 

5. Let us take as the next instance from the Old 
Testament, a case in which prayer was put to the test 
by its enemies. It shall be from the experience of 
that representative man of prayer, Daniel, the states- 
man and the saint. In power he was next to the king 
of Persia, and malignant rivals could find no fault 
with his ofiaeial administration ; so they assaulted him 
on the side of his religion, and at the particular point 



160 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

of prayer. He was knov/n to be a praying man, and 
a trap was laid for him which hinged on that fact. 
They applied to the king, without making any refer- 
ence to Daniel, with a proposition most flattering to 
the royal pride, to-wit : that no petition should be 
made to God or man, for thirty days, except to the 
king himself, under penalty of being thrown into the 
den of lions. The king, taken with the idea of play- 
ing God, for a month, and not once thinking of its 
bearing upon his loved and trusted prime-minister, 
rashly consented, and issued the irreversible edict. 

Daniel knew what it meant, and what fate it por- 
tended, beyond any escape that his conscience would 
allow. But he made no change in his devotional 
habits. When Daniel knew that the writing was 
signed, he went into his house, and his windows being 
open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled 
upon his knees, three times a day, and prayed, and 
gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime." He 
was willing to be a sacrifice, if need were, while yet he 
had hope that God in some way would disappoint his 
enemies, and manifest the power of prayer. And when 
he was arrested under the edict, as a criminal, and 
sentenced to the den of lions, he submitted with such 
composure, that even the king, struck by his faith, 
exclaimed: "Daniel, thy God, whom thou servest 
continually, he will deliver thee." And when the 
king, after a sleepless night of anxiety and distress, 
came early in the morning to the den, and called pite- 
ously at its mouth, " O Daniel, servant of the living 



BIBLE- ANSWERS OLD TESTAMENT. 151 

God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able 
to deliver thee from the lions?" to his joy, the well- 
known voice of his prime-minister replied: "My 
God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' 
mouths, that they have not hurt me ! " 

This is, in one respect, the culmination of the his- 
tory of prayer in the Old Testament; in that prayer 
itself was on trial, and a representative man of prayer 
was selected to be the victim of a powerful conspiracy 
which seemed to be irresistible. JN"eed we be aston- 
ished, that the result not only made the deepest im- 
pression at the time, but that it has strengthened the 
faith of believers in all the ages since? A touching 
thing it was, that the slave-songs at the South, in 
broken utterance, appealed to this ancient fact: 

" My Lord delibered Daniel : 
Why can't lie deliber me?" 

6. It would be unwise to close the examples from 
the Old Testament, without noticing a case of patri- 
otic prayer. Many such might be cited from the 
sacred history; but it will suffice to recall the experi- 
ence of Hezekiah. The two rival empires for many 
centuries, in the olden time, were those of Egypt and 
Assyria. Between them lay the Holy Land — a prize 
which both coveted, and which each had at times pos- 
sessed — and it became the pathway of their hosts, as 
they carried on their conflicts. In the days of Heze- 
kiah, Sennacherib invaded the land, at the head of an 
immense Assyrian army, and captured the principal 
walled cities, except Jerusalem. While besieging 



152 PEAYER AND ITS KEM ASKABLE ANSWERS. 

Lachisli, he sent his general Habshakeh to Jerusalem, 
with a large force, to reduce it ; who called upon Hez- 
ekiah, in an insulting way, to surrender. The king of 
Judah refused, and besought the prophet Isaiah to 
intercede with God to save the city, saying: "Lift 
up thy prayer for the remnant that is left." Isaiah 
assured the king that God would cause the Assyrian 
monarch to hear a rumor that would intimidate him, 
and cause his return to his own land, where he should 
be slain. When Eabshakeh bore back to Sennacherib 
the refusal of Hezekiah, and an account of his faith 
in Jehovah, that haughty monarch dispatched to him 
a blasphemous letter, in which he ridiculed the idea 
that Jehovah could deliver Jerusalem, any more than 
the gods of other lands had saved them from his con- 
quering power. The inspired narrative says: "And 
Hezekiah received the letter from the hands of the 
messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up unto 
the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. 
And Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord." (Isaiah, chap- 
ters xxxvi and xxxvii.) His prayer was an appeal to 
God to defend his people, and vindicate his own claim 
to be the one living and true God. " l^ow therefore, 
O Lord, our God, save us from his hand, that all the 
kingdoms of the earth may know, that thou art the 
Lord, even thou only." 

Then came a message from Isaiah, to assure the 
faith of Hezekiah, couched in the boldest figures of 
Oriental style, and telling Sennacherib: "The virgin, 
the daughter of Zion, hath despised thee, and laughed 



BEBLE-ANSWEES OLD TESTAMENT. 153 



thee to scorn — the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken 
her head at thee." It also assured him that all his 
past victories were because Jehovah had used him, as 
an instrument of his v^rath, to punish the heathen 
nations, but represented the God of the Jews as now 
saying: "Because thy rage against me, and tliy 
tumult, is comfe up unto mine ears, therefore ^dll I 
put my hook into thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, 
and I will turn thee back by the way which thou 
camest." And that very night, the angel of the Lord 
smote one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in 
the Assyrian camp, who, the next morning were found 
dead. Sennacherib, hearing a report, also, that the 
king of Ethiopia was advancing ^ith an army against 
him, hurried back to Nineveh, and there was slain by 
his own sons. So signally did prayer bring an answer, 
when religious patriotism was its inspiration. And 
this event the world has never forgotten. Even within 
our own century it so impressed the genius of Lord 
Eyron, with its tragic sublimity, that in his Hebrew 
Melodies he paid it the tribute of these well-known 
lines: 

The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold, 
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold ; 
And the sheen of his spears was like stars on the sea, 
When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee. 

Like the leaves of the forest when summer is green, 
That host with their banners at sunset were seen ; 
Like the leaves of the forest when autumn hath blown, 
That host on the morrow lay withered and strewn. 



164 PEAYER AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

For the Angel of Deatli spread his wings on the blast, 
And breathed in the face of the foe, as he passed , 
And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, 
And their hearts but once heaved, and forever grew still 

And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide, 
But through it there rolled not tbe breath of his pride; 
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf, 
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf. 

And there lay the rider distorted and pale. 
With the dew on his brow and the rust on his mail ; 
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone. 
The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown. 

And the widows of Assur are loud in their wail, 
And the idols are broke, in the temple of Baal ; 
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote of the sword, 
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord. 



CHAPTER IX. 



BIBLE-ANSWEMS TO PRAYER — NEW TESTAMENT, 

"When we come to the E^ew Testament, the advent 
of the promised Savior brings heaven and earth to- 
gether, more surely than the dream-land-ladder of 
Jacob; as Jesus implied, when he said to JSTathanielj 
"Yerilj, verilj, I say unto you, hereafter ye shall see 
heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and 
descending upon the Son of Man." John, i : 51. When 
men learned of the true High Priest, the finished 
sacrifice, the one mediator, the divinely appointed 
advocate, they had a ground of confidence in prayer 
far beyond anything before known. Hence the com- 
mands and the invitations to pray multiply from the 
lips of Christ, and, in his human limitations, he adds 
the power of his own example. Such was the con- 
stancy of the application to him for supernatural aid, 
and so uniformly did he grant it, that his three years 
ministry might be called one steady experience of 
answers to prayer. After his ascension, and the 
descent of the Spirit, the apostles and early Christians 
felt that they had a new hold on heaven, a more 
perfect access to the mercy seat, and a surer guide to 
acceptable petitions; and so prayer became a mighty 
instrumentality in securing the progress of the 

(155) 



156 PRATER AND ITS REMAREA.BLE ANSWERS. 



clinrcli. "Pray without ceasing," miglit be said to be 
tlie motto, as it was the injunction of its chief apostie. 
The space at command will allow the citation of but 
four instances; which shall be chosen to illustrate, in 
connection with praj^er, the value of faith, of earnest- 
ness, of union, and of spiritual desire; each standing, 
as in the cases cited from the Old Testament, as the 
representative of a class. 

1. Early in our Savior's ministry occurred a marked 
instance, in several respects. It was just after the 
delivery of the Sermon on the Mount, and as he 
reached Capernaum. There was residing in that city 
a centurion — a Roman army officer, answering nearly 
to a captain in a modern army. He, like Cornelius, of 
whom we read in the book of Acts, had been deeply 
impressed by the superiority of the Jewish religion, 
as consisting of the worship of one God without the 
use of images. He seems to have become a believer 
in Judaism, and an admirer of the moral superiority 
of the nation which the Roman army had conquered. 
Being a man of wealth, he built their synagogue at 
his own expense — possibly the very one whose ornate 
remains have lately been discovered at Tell Hum, 
which many suppose to be the site of ancient Caper- 
naum. At this time, he had a servant, to whom he 
was much attached, lying at the point of death with 
the palsy. Hearing of the coming of the wonderful 
teacher and miracle-worker, this Eoman, who had been 
brought up an idolater, sent the Jewish elders of the 
city to Jesus, to intercede in his behalf, and to pray 



BIBLE- ANSWEKS NEW TESTAMENT. 



157 



that lie would exert his power and heal his servant. 
He had such humility that he felt unworthy to go in 
person. (Luke vii: 1-10.) As Jesus was approaching 
the house, the centurion sent other friends, to saj that 
it was not necessary for the Master to come in, nor 
was he himself worthy of the honor of receiving him 
under his roof. It would be quite sufficient for Jesus 
to speak the word of power, where he was, and the 
servant should be healed; as when he bade one of his 
own soldiers go or come, and v/as instantly obeyed. 
This was a faith quite unparalleled by anything which 
Jesus had before met. It was faith, moreover, on the. 
part of a Gentile; so that Jesus exclaimed, "I have 
not found so great faith, no not in Israel." He then 
announced that this man was but the representative of 
a great multitude beyond the boundaries of Judaism, 
who should enter the kingdom ; and he said : " Go thy 
way, and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee." 
And a,t the same moment the servant was healed. 

Such was, (and still is,) the power of combined 
faith and humility. The instance is specially instruct- 
ive, as showing the quick response which God makes 
to the soul's perfect trust in his love; and as proving 
that true humility, instead of discouraging a believing 
applicant, leads to a complete reliance on divine grace 
and the use of appropriate intercession. As the cen- 
turion, with a sense of personal unworthiness, used 
the advocacy of the Jewish elders, so we, with a far 
greater certainty, may, in our appeals to God, use the 
advocacy of the Son of God himself. 



158 PEAYEE AKD ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 



2. The next instance will also be that of a Gentile^ 
and will illustrate yet another condition of prevailing 
prayer. There was one occasion, when Jesus pasced 
outside of what are usually considered the limits of 
Palestine, and went into the coasts of Tyre and 
Sidon that is into Phenicia, whose population was 
descended from the old Canaanites. He sought to 
remain unknown, having gone thither probably for 
rest; but it was soon reported that he was there, and 
instantly a woman of the country, whose daughter 
was a demoniac, called earnestly upon him, as the 
" Son of David," praying that he would cast out the 
demon. This was a believing acknowledgment of his 
Messiahship, on the part of a Gentile, and might well 
appeal to him on her behalf. Yet he made no reply, 
seemed indifferent, and acted as if he did not hear 
her. He wanted to have it appear of what spiritual 
stuff she was made, and to what kind of a spirit a 
favorable response would be given. She continued 
her entreaty so piteously, that the disciples interceded 
for her, and asked the Master to dismiss her with a 
blessing. But he, using the figure of a shepherd, 
replied : " I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of 
the house of Israel." By this he meant that his pub- 
lie ministry was, for good reasons, limited to the Jews, 
as a nation, and he had not entered into Phenicia with 
any purpose to extend it thither. Possibly, also, he 
hinted at the under-lying fact, which John the Baptist 
had noticed, that God honored a spiritual connection 
with Abraham more than a blood -connection. Mat. 



BIBLE -AJSISWERS NEW TESTAMENT. 



159 



iii:9. Then tlie determined mother came still closer, 
and threw herself at his feet, (Mark, vii: 25,) crying 
out in her agony, "Lord, help me." (Mat. xv:25.) 
How could his compassionate heart resist this appeal ? 
But he repeated the same idea as before, changing the 
figure to that of the father of a family: "Let the 
children first be filled ; for it is not meet to take the 
children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs." The 
Greek original has the word for " little dogs," as refer- 
ring not to the wild dogs of tlie streets, but to the 
tame dogs of the household, which were allowed about 
the table. Intent on her point, and not meaning to 
relinquish the object dear to her maternal heart, and, 
with a woman's quickwittedness, she replied: "Yes, 
Lord : yet the (little) dogs under the table eat of the 
children's crumbs." (Mark, vii:28.) The victory was 
hers. Her true character stood revealed. Canaanite 
though she was by race, she was a daughter of Abra- 
ham in spirit, and must have the reward of faith. 
Humility, that took no ofi*ense at seemingly harsh 
words, and perseverance that would not yield to 
repeated repulse, were the very conditions of success- 
ful prayer; and the Savior said: " O, woman, great is 
thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt!" There 
is such a thing then, as a will, on the part of an 
importunate petitioner, at which God takes no ofiense, 
when it means perishing want and firm trust. 

3. Now let us test united petitions as a condition 
of success. Leaving, for the present, a notable instance 
which would illustrate this point, because it may be 



160 TKAYER AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 

used for another important purpose, we will take tlie 
deliverance of Peter from prison, as recorded in tlie 
twelfth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. It was 
a time of persecution, which had burst out afresh, com- 
ing now from the civil power, in the person of Herod, 
the king. He first beheaded the apostle James, the 
brother of John; and when he saw that this act gave 
special satisfaction to the J ews, he seized Peter, the 
verj leader of the apostolic band, at the time of the 
passover, and put him in prison, till that sacred festi- 
val should be over; when he purposed his public exe- 
cution. It was a delay of but a few days, and the 
case seemed desperate. I^o doubt the apostle himself 
prayed earnestly that, if God had no further use for 
him on earth, grace might be given to meet death 
calmly, and to bear an unwavering testimony for 
Christ. Quite probably, in view of the fate of James, 
he had little expectation of deliverance, and thought 
that, as ten or twelve j^ears had elapsed since the ascen- 
sion of Jesus, the predicted time had come, of which 
Jesus spake, when he said to him : " When thou wast 
young thou girdest thyself and walkest whither thou 
wouldst, but when thou art old, thou shalt stretch 
forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry 
thee whither thou wouldst not." l^othing is said, 
however, as to Peter's prayers. 

But we do read of the united prayers of others in 
his behalf. " Peter therefore was kept in prison; but 
prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto 
God for him." This was a matter of absorbing inter- 



BIBLE-ANSWEES NEW TESTAMENT. 161 

est to tlie whole flock; for Peter was not onlj the spir- 
itual leader, but the beloved father of that original 
church. Man J of the members had been converted 
under his preaching, and all had been guided by his 
counsels. James had been murdered, and must Peter 
die also? They could not endure the thought. There 
was no resource but prayer, as Peter was in the inner 
prison, and four companies of soldiers took turns in 
guarding him, by day and night. There was no spe- 
cific promise to plead; only the general provisions for 
the wants of the church could be applied. Yet there 
was the providential indication of a few days delay, 
during which God might cause the king's heart to re- 
lent; for was it not written in Scripture: "The king's 
heart is in the hand of the Lord as the rivers of water; 
he turneth it whithersoever he will " ? Importunate 
supplication was therefore made; for the word in the 
original means not " without ceasing," but " earnest," 
^' intent," or literally, " on the stretch." This was the 
subject weighing upon every mind, and no one could 
rest till the momentous matter was decided. A col- 
umn of prayer rose up before God, from the church 
meetings and from the closets of the saints. And such 
united and fervent pleading had its reward; for God 
sent his angel, the very night before the day fixed for 
the execution, and brought him out of the prison ; and 
while one of the companies of Christians were at 
prayer at the house of Mark's mother (probably in- 
tending to spend the v/hole of that last night in peti- 
tion), they were astonished to learn that Peter himself 



162 PEAYEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

was at tlie door. Their surprise sliould not be con- 
strued as a weakness of faitli; for as thej liad no spe- 
cific promise to urge, so they had no right to feel as- 
sured of the particular kind of answer which would 
be given. It might not have been best, that Peter 
should be spared, any more than James; and if best, 
no one could foresee the time and manner in which 
the deliverance w^ould arrive. 

4. We come, now, to one of the most interesting 
cases of answer to prayer in the whole record of the 
church of God ; one in which Vv^e have an illustration 
of the value of combined union, earnestness, persever- 
ance, and faith in a specific promise, to secure a wide 
spread spiritual blessing — that connected with the 
day of Pentecost. We can look back, and see that the 
occasion was, in an important sense, the birth of the 
Christian church, and that it was appropriately pre- 
ceded by spiritual travail. Jesus had ascended to the 
Father, to act as the Intercessor for his people. Be- 
fore his crucifixion and also after his resurrection, he 
had instructed them as to the advent of the Comforter, 
the Holy Spirit, who was to be his substitute, as their 
everpresent companion and friend. See John xiv: 16- 
26, XV : 26, xvi: 7-14. In addition to this specific 
promise, he gave a command, which partook also 
largely of the nature of a promise: for we read (Acts 
i: 4-8), " He commanded them that they should not de- 
part from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the 
Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For 
John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be bap- 



BIBLE- ANSWEES NEW TESTAMENT. 



163 



tized with the Holy Grhost not many days hence. ^ ^ ^ 
Ye shall receive power after that tlie Holy Ghost is 
come upon you." In these circumstances, they were 
prepared for a clear exercise of faith. They had been 
taught also their pressing need, by the declarations of 
Jesus, by their sad and mortifying weakness at the 
time of his apprehension and condemnation, by their 
sense of loneliness since his ascension, and by their 
felt inadequacy to the work of going forth to preach 
his gospel to an unbelieving world. If ever men 
needed a special divine qualification for a momentous 
mission, they were the little band of disciples, one 
hundred and twenty in number, who waited at Jeru- 
salem for this heavenly baptism. 

But how did they wait? ^ot idly and impassibly. 
They waited on the Cord, and not simply ybr him. 
They knew the divine law of procedure, in cases of 
spiritual blessing. A promise was meant to encourage 
prayer. And so the apostles " all continued with one 
accord in prayer and supplication, with the women 
and Mary, the motlier of Jesus, and with his breth- 
ren." It was after ten consecutive days had been thus 
spent, that " suddenly there came a sound from heaven, 
as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house 
where they were sitting; and there appeared unto 
them cloven tongues, like as of fire; and it sat upon 
each of them; and they were all filled with the Holy 
Ghost." In this occurrence there is to be noted, the 
essential and the incidental, the permanent and the 
temporary. That which was incidental, though im- 



164 PKAYEH AXD ITS KEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 



portant for tlie immediate occasion, was tlie tongue of 
fire and tlie gift of speech in foreign languages. Eor 
even miracles are onlj " signs " of something higher. 
The flame did not abide, and there is no evidence that 
the gift of tongues was permanent with all who then 
exercised tlie power. Paul even speaks slightingly of 
the latter, in a long passage, (1 Cor. xiv,) in the 
course of which he says: " I thank God, I speak with 
tongues more than ye all; yet in the church, I had 
rather speak five words with my understanding, that 
by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thous- 
and words in a.n unknown tongue." The really essen- 
tial and permanent thing on the day of Pentecost was, 
the spiritual influence or baptism. The outward mir- 
acle was only a wonder, to attract attention, to gather 
the crowd, to impress with a conception of supernatu- 
ral power, and to prepare for the spiritual eflect. 

What was actually accomplished, for the advance- 
ment of the kingdom and the estabhshment of the 
church, was the revolution in the mind and heart of 
the disciples, and the conversion, in one day, of three 
thousand opposers. The disciples were evidently lifted 
into a new and higher religious life. They received 
both lio:ht and love. Their minds were enlio-htened 
to understand the Scriptures, and especially to inter- 
pret the prophecies and explain the mission of Jesus 
as the Messiah. At the same time, they were 
" strengthened with might by the Spirit in the inner 
man," so as to lose their former timidity, and to be 
filled with zeal and courage. From that moment, the 



BIBLE- ANSWEES — NEW TESTAMENT. 



165 



change was sucli, that their enemies took note of it, and 
marveled that obscure, uneducated men should speak 
with boldness and freedom. Acts iv : 13. They 
braved the lion in his den. They, who had all fled, 
when the Master was arrested in the garden, not only 
preached courageously in the temple, but faced the 
Sanhedrim in full session, and refused to forbear their 
testimony even under threats of death, and the actual 
infliction of stripes and imprisonment. Acts iv : 18- 
21, V : 17-42. Yea, these experiences only led them 
to assemble and pray more earnestly still, and the 
record is: ''And when they had prayed, the place 
was shaken, where they were assembled together; and 
they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they 
spake the word of God with- boldness.'' iv : 31. It is 
no matter of astonishment, then, that this inward 
renewing should be accompanied by corresponding 
outward success in preaching the gospel; that the 
converts numbered three thousand, the very first day, 
and five thousand, a few days after, counting the men 
alone; and that the historian inserts such significant 
words as these: "And the Lord added to the church 
daily such as should be saved," or literally rendered, 
" added saved ones." " And believers were the more 
added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and 
women." "And the word of God increased; and the 
number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem 
greatly; and a great company of the priests were obe- 
dient unto the faith." Acts ii : IT, v : 14, vi : T. 
We have thus reviewed ten cases of answers to 



166 PRATEK AND ITS REMAKKABLE ANSWERS. 



prayer; six being taken from the Old Testament and 
four from the IsTew. These have illustrated earnest 
wrestling for personal deliverance from outward peril, 
individual intercession for others, parental yearning 
and petition, prayer for reviving amid widespread 
declension and apostacy, the testing of prayer itself 
as a means of rescue from death, patriotic appeal for 
the nation, the exercise of faith in connection with 
requests, the value of importunity in one's appeals, 
the effect of union in soliciting a needed boon, and the 
result of waiting upon God for spiritual blessings. 
Many others equally striking might have been cited, 
but these have a variety of object and of characteris- 
tic spirit sufficient to instruct and encourage all saints. 
Studied carefully, as one would other historic facts, 
they give us the law of prayer, precisely as physical 
phenomena give us physical laws. And the law thus 
ascertained proves to be identical with that which was 
deduced from Scriptural principles and promises, and 
from the affirmations of reason, and which was stated 
in the preceding chapters. A certain right state of 
mind prompts to prayer, and is found to be linked to 
the purposes and providence of God. 

Of what an easy, quick access 
My blessed Lord, art thou ! how suddenly 

May our requests thine ears invade ! 
To show that state dislikes not easiness, 
If I but lift mine eyes, my suit is made; 
Thou canst no more not hear than thou canst die. 

Of what supreme, almighty power 
Is thy great arm, which spans tlie east and west, 



BIBLE- ANSWEES — NEW TESTAMENT. 



167 



And tacks the centre to the sphere ! 
By it do all things live their measured hour: 
We cannot ask the thing which is not there, 
Blaming the shallowness of our request. 

Of vdiat unmeasurable love 
Art thou possest, who, when thou couldst not die, 

Wert fain to take our flesh and curse, 
And for our sakes, in person sin reprove ; 
That by destroying that which tied thy purse, 
Thou mightest make way for liberality. 

Since then these three wait on thy throne, 
Ease^ Power and Love; I value prayer so, 

That were I to leave all but one, 
Wealth, fame, endoM^ments, virtues, all should go, 
I and dear prayer could together dwell, 
And quickly gain, for each inch lost, an ell. 

— George Eei'berL 



CHAPTEE X. 



PRATER FOR SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 

FoK many centuries, God's people have been accus- 
tomed to refer to the daily fall of manna for the Israel- 
ites, in the desert, and to the similar supplies brought 
by the ravens to Elijah, as encouragements to faith. 
It is not that they expect the same method to be used 
now as then, or other than ordinary means to be em- 
ployed; but they believe that God, through human 
and other natural agencies, vrill, in answer to prayer, 
supply the temporal need of his people. Do the facts 
bear them out in this faith? Let us see. 

A German Mother. — There has been circulated 
in Germany a tract called Eine Mutter,'^^ or "A 
Mother." It was written by Dorothea Trudel. of 
whom we shall hear in the next chapter, and is a 
brief account of her own mother. She was a woman 
of great faith in prayer, and though her husband was 
a drinking man, who made little or no provision for 
the family, and the children numbered eleven, and 
their straits were sometimes great, they always were 
saved from suffering. The tract says: "There were 
times when we had not a farthing left in the house. 
None but God knew of our condition, and he who 
feedetli the young ravens when they cry, was ^ot 

(168) 



PEATEE FOE SUPPLY OF TEMPOEAL WANTS. 169 

unmindful of the petitions of his faithful child. He 
ever helped us in our time of need. It is on this 
account that our mother's favorite motto, 'Pray, but 
do not beg,' has been so impressed upon our minds. 
In the course of this discipline, many striking deliver- 
ances were afforded us, and every one around could 
bear witness that we were not allowed to suffer want." 
"When one of the children was asked on what her 
mother relied, in her poverty, the child said: "On 
God alone; she never tells us how God is going to 
help, but she is always certain his aid will come at the 
right time." "But," answered the man, "we must 
be governed by reason." " Nothing is said in the 
Bible about reason," replied the child; "but it is 
written, 'He that believeth shall not be confounded.' " 
When the mother learned of this conversation, she 
said: "You will experience that they who always get 
help just at the right time, are those who look in 
steadfast faith to God, expecting him to act for and 
aid them." 

The Case of Stilling. — Henry Young Stilling was 
a physician at the court of the Grand Duke of Baden, 
and was noted for his skill as an oculist. He was an 
intimate friend of Goethe, who urged him to write an 
account of his life, because of his remarkable experi- 
ence of providential responses to prayer and faith. 
He was desirous to study at a university, so as to be a 
physician, and he prayed to be directed as to the par- 
ticular institution, and was led by a singular occur- 
rence to Strasburg. His plans would require a thou- 



8 



170 PKAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 



sand dollars, while he knew not how to raise a 
hundred. But he only remarked to his poor relatives, 
" I wonder from what quarter my Heavenly Father 
will provide me with money." He started with forty- 
six dollars, but found himself at Frankfort, three 
days' distance from Strasburg, with but a dollar left. 
He said nothing, but to God, to whom he made his 
case known. While walking and praying, he met Mr. 

L , a merchant from his town, who, learning his 

purpose, asked where the money was to come from, 
and was told, from his rich Father in Heaven. Find- 
ing that Stilling had but a single dollar, he said: 
"Well, I am one of your Father's stewards," and % 
handed him thirty-three dollars. But when this be- 
came reduced at Strasburg to one, again, he prayed 
earnestly, and one morning his room-mate unexpect- 
edly presented him with thirty dollars. His fee to 
the lecturer came due, and must be paid by Thursday 
evening, or his name be stricken from the rolls; and 
he had no money. He spent Thursday in prayer, and 
at five o'clock p. m., nothing liad yet come, and he 
broke out in perspiration, while the tears rolled down 
his cheek. There was a knock at the door. It was 

his landlord, Mr. R , who inquired how he liked 

his room, and then asked whether he had brought any 
money with him.. ^o, I have no money." Mr. 
E. was surprised, and then said: "I see how it is; 
God has sent me to help you." He left, but soon 
came bPvGk with forty dollars. Stilliuo^ threw himself 
on the fioor, and thanked God with tears. His whole 



PEAYEE rOE SUPPLY OF TEMPOEAL "WASTS, ITI 

nniyersity experience was of the same cliaracter. He 
was often in want, and God always relieved him in 
answer to prayer. And although he was surrounded 
by skeptics, whom he could not always answer, his 
faith in the power of prayer kept him from wavering- 
in his loyalty to Jesns Christ. 

A Califoenia Expeeience. Kev. Horace Bushnell, 
D.D., in his " Nature and The Supernatural," refers to 
an interesting character with whom he met in his 
visjt to California. He says of him: 

" He had hired his little house of one room, in a 
new trading town, that was planted last year, agreeing 
to give a rent for it of ten dollars per month. At 
length, on the day preceding the rent day, he found 
that he had nothing in hand to meet the payment, and 
could not see at all whence the money was to come. 
Consulting with his wife, they agreed that prayer, so 
often tried, was their only hope. They went accord- 
ingly to prayer, and found assurance that their want 
should be supplied. That was the end of their trouble, 
and there they rested, dismissing farther concern. But 
the morning came, and the money did not. The rent- 
owner made his appearance earlier than usual. As 
he entered the door, their hearts began to sink, whis- 
pering that now, for once, they must give it up, and 
allow that prayer had failed. But, before the demand 
was made, a neighbor coming in called out the un- 
timely visitor, engaging him in conversation, a few 
minutes, at the door. Meantime, a stranger came in, 
saying, ' Dr. I owe you ten dollars, for attending me 



172 PKATEE AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

in a fever, at such a time, and here is tlie money.' 
He could muster no recollection, either of the man or 
of the service, but was willing to be convinced, and so 
had the money in hand, after all, when the demand 
was made. When Stilling and Francke recite their 
multitudes of specific answers to prayer, their reports 
are very hastily discredited by many, because of their 
strangeness. But I have heard so many examples, 
personally, of the kind just cited, that I begin to think 
they are even common.'' 

Deliverance erom Danger at Sea. The Rev. Dr. 
Wilson of Philadelphia, had the following fact from 
the pastor of the lady mentioned. The packet ship 
Albion, full of passengers from America, was wrecked 
about fifty years ago, on the coast of Ireland, and the 
news was, that all on board had perished. A minister 
near Philadelphia on reading a list of the lost, found 
among them the name of one of the members of his 
congregation, and went immediately to inform the 
wife of the sad fact. She had been earnestly praying, 
during the voyage of her husband, and had received 
assurance of his safety amid great danger. Hence, to 
the astonishment of her pastor, after he had informed 
her of the shipwreck, and showed her the list of names 
of those who w^ere lost, she told him that it was a 
mistake; that her husband had been in extreme peril, 
but was not dead. When the next tidings were re- 
ceived, it proved that her husband was among the pas- 
sengers, and had been in great peril; but that he had 
escaped, and was the only one saved ! 



PEATER FOR SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 173 

Direction SiNorLARLY Given. The famous Samuel 
Rutherford, whose piety is fragrant to this day in 
Scotland, had a friend, a Mr. Elair, who was on his 
way from London to Port Patrick, and who greatly 
desired to make two visits, on his road, but had only 
time for one; as the persons whom he wished to see 
lived on different routes; One of these was Mr. RutL- 
erford, who resided at An worth, and the other was a 
lady of special piety, Marion Macknaught, who lived 
at Kirkcudbright. Coming to the parting of the road, 
where he must decide to which of the two places to go 
he dropped the bridle on the neck of his horse, and 
prayed earnestly to be divinely directed. He allowed 
the horse, then, to take his own way, which proved 
to be the road to Kirkcudbright. "When he reached 
that place, behold there were both of the friends whom 
he desired to see ; for Mr. Rutherford was on a visit 
to Marion Macknaught ! Here is a case to which ap- 
plies the statement of the wise man (Prov. xvi: 33) : 
" The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing 
thereof is of the Lord." Even the apparent accidents 
of life, and the movements amid the lower orders of 
creation enter into the divine plans, and are subordi- 
nated to prayer; even as Jesus assured his disciples 
that God's purpose was concerned with the falling of 
a sparrow. 

Prayer for a Result in Parliament. — In the 
memoirs of Sir Powell Buxton, who was one of the 
champions of freedom, in the long conflict in the 
British Parliament over West India emancipation — - 



174: P5ATER AND ITS EEIMAEKABLE ANSWEE8. 

occurs a letter to his dangliter, in reference to a recent 
"division," or vote in the House of Commons, in 
which he says: "What led to that division? If ever 
there was a subject w^hich occupied our prayers, it was 
this. Do you remember how we desired that God 
would give me the Spirit in that emergency? How 
we quoted the promise, ' He* that lacketh wisdom, let 
him ask it of the Lord, and it shall be given him?' 
And how I kept open that passage in the Old Testa- 
ment, in which it is said, ' We have no might against 
this great company that cometh against us, neither 
know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee ' — 
the Spirit of the Lord replying, ' Be not afraid nor 
dismayed by reason of this great multitude, for the 
battle is not yours but God's!' If you want to see 
the passage, open my Bible; it will turn of itself to 
the place. I sincerely believe that jprayer was the 
cause of that division; and I am confirmed in this by 
knowing that we by no means calculated on the eiFect. 
The course v/e took appeared to be right, and we fol- 
lowed it hlindly What a pity it is, that men do 
not resort more continually to God for needed wis- 
dom, and for important success. Especially how 
desirable it is, that philanthropic reforms should be 
conducted in a spirit of prayer and faith, and not from 
mere natural impulse. 

Pkayee decides the destiny of a College. — One 
of the most flourishing and influential literary insti- 
tutions in the land is that at Oberlin, Ohio. More 
than a thousand students gather there, every year^ in 



PEATER FOR SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 175 

the different departments, and the ministers and 
teachers who have thence gone forth into every part of 
our land, and of the v/orld, have been an incalculable 
power for good. Oberlin has been a center of piety 
and of reform. A continuous revival has marked its 
history for forty years, and it has stood in the fore- 
front of the witnesses against sin. Its part in the 
anti-slavery conflict is well known, and especially 
because it dared from the beginning to open its doors 
to the proscribed colored race, giving them equal 
literary advantages and kind personal treatment with 
others. This stamped upon the institution what, at 
the time, was a most unpopular characteristic, yet 
one which, in the end, made it strong in influence for 
good, and rallied around it a host of devoted Chris- 
tian friends, who have grown in numbers with each 
successive year. 

But this step, we may be sure, was not taken without 
a conflict of opinion among the good men who were 
founding the institution. "When the proposition came 
up, in the board of trustees, it gave rise to an earnest 
and protracted debate; for many of them thought that 
thus to defy public sentiment would be the ruin of the 
college. Funds would not be contributed, parents 
would not send their children, odium would be ex- 
cited, and quite likely mob violence would be aroused. 
It was replied, that Christian men should stand by 
truth and right, and should live out, and not live 
down, their principles. God could be trusted to take 
care of the consequences. Finally, amid great excite- 



176 PEATEE ABJ} ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

ment and agitation, the vote was taken, and stood a 
tie! The president of the board cast the deciding 
vote in favor of the proposition, and the glorions 
fntnre of Oberlin was decided! But that it may be 
known that prayer directed the momentous decision, 
let this extract be read from a letter written to the 
author by Mrs. E. E. Shipherd, widows of the founder 
of Oberlin; who still lives, to rejoice over the events 
of that fateful day, and at whose house the trustees 
held their meeting. Little did those brethren, in their 
warm discussion, think that God was giving, in answer 
to the prayers of a circle of sisters then in supplica- 
tion over that very matter, one of the most signal 
proofs on record of his readiness to fulfill the promise: 
" If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that 
giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it 
shall be given him." James i: 5. 

Cleveland, O., Sept. 1, 1875. 

Dear Sir : Your communication is before me, 
and I cheerfully give you the particulars of the scene 
which transpired during the discussions as to receiv- 
ing the colored people into the institution. The trus- 
tees met at our house, and my room was adjoining, 
and all their deliberations were easily heard. As 
there was a difference of opinion expressed with some 
warmth, a couple of our sisters retired for prayer, 
wdiile I remained to give the progress of the discus- 
sion. They would call occasionally to inquire, and I 
kept them posted, until at length, Father Keep, who 



PKAYEE FOR SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 177 

had just been elected president of the board, threw in 
the casting vote, and came to my room, to relieve our 
minds; as we felt that nothing could decide that 
question but the Spirit of God, which we felt had 
commenced the work, and would direct it aright. As 
to facts respecting answers to prayer, I have no more 
doubt than I have of my own existence. In the early 
history of the Oberlin work, the closet was their only 
bank, and that never failed. Time and again Mr. 
Shipherd would come from his study and remark that 
they were in need of a certain amount of money, and 
he knew not where it was to come from. But, he 
would add, ^'it will comeP^ and he would call a few 
of the brethren together to pray; and I never knew 
it to fail, that, within twenty-four hours the money 
would come, in a perfectly unexpected way. 

Truly yours, in Christian sympathy, 

Mrs. E. R. Shipherd. 

How "Washington Allston Was Relieved. This 
celebrated artist had to struggle, at first, with great 
difficulties, and to endure the pinchings of poverty. 
At one time, he was reduced to such straits, that he 
locked himself in his studio, and gave himself to 
prayer for a loaf of bread, for himself and wife. While 
thus engaged, there was a knock at the door; and when 
it was opened, a stranger appeared, who inquired 
whether the beautiful painting, "The Angel Uriel" 
was still in the artist's possession. Mr. Allston pro- 
duced it from a corner, and wiped oif the dust. The 



178 PEAYEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE AJ^SWEES. 

stranger said that he had greatly admired it at the 
Hojal Exhibition, and inquired the price. The artist 
replied that as nobody ha.d appreciated it, or been 
willing to give anything near its price, he had ceased 
to offer it. " Would four hundred pounds purchase 
it?" said the stranger. "I never dared to ask half 
of that." "Then it is mine," exclaimed the visitor, 
who explained that he was the Marquis of Stafford, 
and took possession of the treasure, leaving the artist 
overwhelmed with grateful astonishment at the sudden 
answer of his prayer. 

Peayee foe Rain. ISTothing has excited more rid- 
icule, on the part of the skeptical physical philoso- 
phers, than the practice of Christian communities to 
pray for rain, in a time of drought. They admit 
that men may have such knowledge of nature's laws 
as to put them to use, for the production of desired 
effects; but they have no faith that God may do this 
on a larger scale, in answer to the supplications of his 
people. They even concede that men have produced 
rain at times, in limited localities, by conflagrations 
and cannonades; yet they do not see how God could 
possibly do the same thing, by a control of natural 
laws infinitely easy, without overturning the physical 
universe! But, for aught they know, any angel may 
understand and control the conditions of rain-making, 
as readily as a philosophic skeptic on earth can pro- 
duce and condense steam. Let us examine facts. 

Statement of Rev. Enoch Pond^ D.D. This ven- 
erable father in the ministry in a letter to the author, 



PRAYER FOR SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 179 



dated Bangor, Me,, August 24, 1875, says: "I had this 
account from the late Dr. Snell, of North Brookfield, 
Mass. It was a time of severe drought in all the north- 
ern part of Worcester County, and the Eev. Mr. Tom- 
linson, of Oakham — a man eminent for the fervor of 
his piety and the efficacy of his prayers — appointed 
a day of fasting and prayer on account of it; and Dr. 
Snell, who was settled in a neighboring tovvm, con- 
cluded to ride over on horseback, and attend the meet- 
ing with his Brother Tomlinson. The day was fair, 
and the sun hot, and everything seemed parched and 
ready to die with thirst. The meeting was well at- 
tended, and Mr. Tomlinson was specially earnest and 
importunate in his prayer for rain. He could not give 
the matter up. God only could grant the help that 
Was needed, and he must grant it. After meeting, 
Dr. Snell mounted his horse, to ride home, some six 
or eight miles. He saw a little strip of cloud in the 
western sky, but thought nothing of it, at first. Soon, 
however, it began to enlarge, and gather blackness, 
and ' before I got out of Oakham,' said Dr. Snell, ' I 
was drenched with rain.' Oakham was thoroughly 
wetted, and (which was very remarkable) but little rain 
fell on any of the neighboring towns." 

Statement of Professor Henry Cowles. In the 
Oherlin Evangelist^ of August 31, 1853, edited by 
Professor Cowles, is this editorial statement of recent 
facts in that place: 

"The scenes in our church, on Sabbath, August 
14th, demand a suitable notice, in honor of divine 



180 PEAYEK AND ITS EEMAKIiABLE ANSWERS. 



mercy. A heavy drought lay on ns, coupled with in- 
tense heat. It aiFected our mind the more, perhaps, 
for our having noticed, the day previous, that the au- 
tumn grains were wilting under the scorching sun, 
and that the potatoes, yet small, had apparently ceased 
to grow. There had been rain in the counties west of 
us, from fifty to a hundred miles distant; but we could 
see only the dim form of spent showers : no rain 
reached our village. Under these circumstances, we 
met for Sabbath morning worship. Our pastor prayed 
for rain. His prayer expressed our entire confidence 
that God always did things v/ell; that he knew, infi- 
nitely better than we, the reasons for giving or with- 
holding rain; but that he would not be offended with 
us, if we should express before him our views of the 
case, as far as we could see, and our feeling of intense 
desire, that he would grant us what seemed to us so 
great a blessing. ^ ^ ^' The prayer closed, we sang 
a hymn, and the pastor gave out his text and entered 
upon his discourse, when the rain broke upon us in 
torrents. It is rare that we have felt God's presence 
more deeply than in that solemn moment. Our first 
thought was, let us suspend this sermon, and give pub- 
lic thanks to Almighty God. Soon the pastor did 
pause, the storm roaring so loud he could scarcely be 
heard over the house, and said : ' Perhaps I ought to 
stop preaching, and lead out in thanksgiving.' After 
a short sermon, we had a thanksgiving hymn, in which 
all the people seemed to praise God with one consent. 
The rain continued with little cessation for four hours. 



PKAYEK FOE SUPPLY OF TEMPOEAL WANTS. 181 

and tlien onward for four days, before tlie weatlier 
became again settled; so that the earth is supplied 
with water as we rarely see it in the middle of August. 
It was noticed by those without the house, on that 
Sabbath morning, that it began to rain almost without 
clouds ; that they swept up from every quarter of the 
heavens, showing that our village was the center of 
the storm." 

Statement of Rev. Charles G. Finney. About 
three months before his lamented death, Mr. Finney 
gave a reminiscence, which Professor Gowles has kindly 
furnished for use in this volume. Better to under- 
stand it, one must remember that Oberlin lies about 
ten miles south of Lake Erie, which is the lake refer- 
red to below. Professor Gowles writes: 

" Somewhat more than twenty years ago, the village 
of Oberlin and its adjacent country along the lake 
shore, suffered severely through the hot season from a 
total failure of rain, for nearly three months. Clouds, 
that seemed to promise rain, were repelled from the 
heated dry atmosphere over the land, and attracted by 
the more moist atmosphere over the lake, to pour out 
their waters there. On one such occasion, the clouds 
had gathered dark, low, and heavy over the lake, and 
lay there with no particular indication of rising. 
President Finney walked out with his eye on these 
clouds. I give the sequel in his own words, as they 
fell from his lips, less than three months since. ' In 
this walk, I met Ralph, who turned sharply upon me. 
' Mr. Finney, I should like to know what you mean, 



182 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 



in preaching tliat God is always wise and always good; 
wlien yon see liim ponring ont that great rain npon 
the lake, where it can do no good, and leaving ns to 
sniFer so terribly for the want of that wasted water? ' 
His words cnt me to the heart; I turned, and ran 
home to my closet, fell on my knees, and told the Lord 
what Halph had been saying about him; and besouglit 
him, for the honor of his great name, to confound this 
caviler, and show forth the glory of his power and the 
greatness of his love. I pleaded with him, that he 
had encouraged his people to pray for rain, and that 
now the time seemed to have come for him to show 
his power in this thing, and his faithfulness as a hearer 
of prayer. Before I rose from my knees, there was a 
sound of a rushing mighty wind. I looked out, and 
lo! the heavens were black; that cloud was rolling up, 
and soon the rain fell in torrents, two full hours.' 
The writer himself remembers how that cloud lay over 
the lake; how it drove him, also, to his closet; and 
that soon and signally the prayers of that hour came 
back to us in mighty rain." 

The Bank oe Faith. This is the title of a little 
book, quaint and curious, by a very eccentric Congre- 
gational minister in England, who died in 1813. He 
was noted for his faith in divine providence, even to 
the minutest events of daily life, and used to write 
his name thus : William Huntington, S. S. The S. S. 
meant Sinner Saved! The book is an autobiography 
from this one point of view, and every page discloses 
events in answer to prayer for temporal relief. There 



PEAYEE FOE SUPPI-Y OF TEMPOS AL WANTS. 183 

is space here for but a brief extract, which may be 
taken as a specimen of the entire vohime. Of a time 
when he was in great need, he says: "However, I 
found that God now began much to try my patience, 
and that I ought to importune and watch, and wait 
upon the Lord, and to keep my eye fixed on him, as a 
servant's eye is on the hand of his master, until I ob- 
tained an answer. And I never v/aited on his Blessed 
Majesty in vain; for it was sure to come at length. 
After putting up many petitions, and having been 
kept long in suspense, I one night called on Mr. and 
Mrs. Smith, in Chandler Street, Oxford Soad, who 
were great friends to me. Before I departed, they 
generously made me a present of three guineas. I 
humbly beg their pardon for mentioning their names, 
and exposing their secret alms; but as I prayed to my 
Father, which seeth in secret, and he in mercy re- 
warded me openly, I therefore must proclaim it upon 
the housetop, to encourage the weak faith of others, 
that they may make God their Guardian and their 
Bank." 

Again : " The next morning a person knocked 
at my door, desiring to see me. When he came into 
my study, I looked at him, and perceived him to be a 
gentleman that I had never seen before. He told me 
that he had once heard me preach at Dr. Gifford's 
meeting-house, and once or twice in Margaret Street 
Chapel, and that he had heard me greatly to his satis- 
faction; and the reason of his coming to see me now 
was, that he had been exercised, the last night with a 



184 PRAYER AND ITS KEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 



dream; that he dreamed the word of God came to 
him, saying, ' if thy brother be waxen poor, thou shalt 
open thy hand to thy poor brother,' etc. He asked 
me if there was such a portion of Scripture. I ans- 
wered, the words were these : [the whole connected pas- 
sage being given.] He told me many of these words 
came to him in his sleep ; and in the morning, when 
he awoke, he felt the power of them. In wondering 
who this poor brother could be, he informed me, it 
was impressed on his mind that I was the poor brother 
about whom he had dreamed, and asked me concern- 
ing my circumstances. I then told him of the trial I 
was in, and as he was fully satisfied it was of God, he 
wondered much at it. At his departure he gave me a 
new pair of doeskin gloves, two new white handker- 
chiefs, and a guinea. He then blessed me, and left 
me; and I do not remember ever seeing him before 
that time, nor but once since. Thus God, who had 
commanded a widow to sustain Elijah, commanded 
this man to relieve me. The next day, a friend told 
me that a person had left a guinea with him for me; 
and while at Mr. Byrchmore's, in Margaret Street, a 
lady came to his door in a coach, inquiring for me. 
When I went to the door, she put her hand out, and 
gave me a guinea, and then ordered the coachman to 
drive away, having done all the business God sent her 
to do. 

Thus our Most Bountiful Benefactor answered 
these, my poor petitions, also, after he had been 
pleased, for a time, to exercise my faith and patience, 



PRAYEE FOE SUPPLY OF TEMPOEAL WANTS. 185 

in order to encourage me to a stronger confidence in 
his grace and providence. ^ ^ ^ At another time, 
when Providence had been exercising my faith and 
patience, till the cnpboard was quite empty, in answer 
to simple prayer, he sent me one of the largest hams 
that I ever saw. Indeed I saw clearly, that I had 
nothing to do but to pray, to study and to preach, for 
God took care of me and of my family also, agree- 
ably to his own promise: ' Seek ye first the kingdom 
of God and his righteousness, and all these things 
shall be added unto you.' " 

A College Student Supported. — The case of Stil- 
ling at the German university can be paralleled by 
many cases in our own land. Eev. Wm. L. Bray, of 
Kalamazoo, Mich., writes thus: "My college chum, 
Andrew J. Clapp, now in heaven, went through col- 
lege on prayer. He had no means of his own. He 
would not beg, and was not able to teach ; so he l^id 
himself on God's promises, and never was disap- 
pointed. Many times, just when he must have 
money or leave, the money came, and very often from 
unknown sources. Often it was enclosed in an 
envelope, with not a word to tell where it came from. 
He believed God sent it. We were in Amherst Col- 
lege; entered in 1854, and graduated in 1858." 

Expeeience of Mes. Jane Coney Pithey. — Mrs. 
Pithey is a member of the Centenary Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, in Chicago. Slie has become known to 
a wide circle of Christian friends, as one who lives 
wholly by faith. For several years she has been dis- 



186 PKAYEE AKD ITS EEMAEEABLE ANSWEES. 



abled by the shaking palsy, and has received all her 
supplies in answer to prayers. She lives in a small 
frame house, on a narrow and unpleasant street; but, 
though suifering much from disease, being quite 
helpless in her chair, is uniformly patient and cheer- 
ful. She told the author of this book, that her first 
experience of the readiness of her Heavenly Father to 
hear prayer, was when she was living in Dublin, Ire- 
land, and was but sixteen years of age. Having 
learned to play on the piano, at school, she was very 
anxious to possess one; but the ordinary price was 
far above the family means. One day it occurred to 
her that God heard prayer, and that it mJght be he 
would give her a piano. So she expressed to him her 
desires with childlike simplicity and faith. A day or 
two later, she was walking along the street, and saw a 
music store, which she entered, and then inquired the 
price of a piano which stood before her. To her 
amazement, the man replied, "five pounds." Seeing 
her surprise at the low price, he added, "I know 
nothing of this piano, except that it was brought here 
to be sold for five pounds. She hastened home, told her 
mother, obtained the money, and secured her heart's 
desire. This fact tauo^ht her a life-Ion lesson — to 
carry all her wants, small or great, to her Heavenly 
Father. 

"When her husband died, he left in his pocket 
book only two silver quarter-dollars. Besides the 
little cottage, this was all with which to support her- 
self and a bed-ridden mother of nearly ninety years. 



FEAYEE FOE SUPPLY OF TEMPOEAL WANTS. 187 



But she went to God in prayer, and day by day, ever 
since, each want has been met. Each needed article 
was asked for by name, nntil her hired girl, a Koman 
Catholic, was astounded at the constant answers 
given. One morning, as Mrs. Pithey was rising from 
her knees, at family worship, the girl burst out: 
" You have forgotten to pray for coal, and we are 
entirely out." So, as she stood, she added a petition 
for the coal. About an hour after, the bell rang, she 
went to the door, and there w^as a load of coal! She 
opened the kitchen door and quietly said, " the coal 
has come;" when the girl clapped her hands together, 
and, with an exclamation of astonishment, leaped from 
the floor. The coal was sent by a Mr. Schufeldt, v/ho 
knew nothing of her want, and who had never sent 
anything before, nor ever has since. She felt the 
Wsiut of a carpet, and thought that her Father in 
Heaven would be pleased to give her one. She asked 
him for it, and in a few days came a present of a sum 
taore than sufficient to buy one. And her sympathy 
with others equals her freedom from anxiety in her 
own behalf. When the Foundlings' Home was started, 
she gave the first dollar toward a permanent build- 
ing, long before any one else had thought of such an 
idea; and Dr. Shipman, her physician, and also the 
superintendent of the Home just referred to, says that 
he never knew her to worry but once, and that v/as 
when she had unexpectedly two barrels of flour in her 
house, instead of one, and had not been able to get 
one of them carried to the Foundlings' Home. Wish- 



188 PEA YES AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

ing, lately, to give a marriage present to a girl who 
had lived with her, she fixed upon a certain snm, in 
her mind, as appropriate, and then asked the Lord for 
the money. In a short time. Miss D , a city mis- 
sionary, handed her that exact snm, which had been 
sent to her from Massachusetts. 

Welsh Caleb. — Rev. Dr. Joseph Stennet was a 
"Welsh minister, settled in Abergavenny. One of 
his parishioners was named Caleb, and lived eight 
miles away, in a solitary place, among the hills. There 
came severe winter-storms, which blocked the roads 
for weeks, and Dr. S. feared his poor ]3arishioner would 
suifer, and perhaps starve. But it turned out that, all 
the time, he fared uncommonly well. When, after 
a few days, the last morsel of food was gone, he went 
to prayer over the matter with his family, and then 
retired to bed with a peaceful faith. He slept soundly 
till day broke, when there was a knock at the door, 
and a horse stood there, loaded with provisions. The 
man who rode the horse refused to tell whence they 
came, except that God sent them. The load contained 
bread, fiour, oat-meal, butter, cheese, salt and fresh 
meat, etc., enough to last beyond the weeks of impris- 
onment. It was two years before Dr. Stennet was 
able to ascertain who the benefactor was. He was 
calling in the neighboring city of Hereford, on a Dr. 
Talbot, who had a pious wife, though himself an infi- 
del. In the course of conversation, he alluded to the 
case of Caleb. At that Dr. Talbot said he knew the 
man, and related how he once conversed with Caleb 



PEAYEK FOE SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 189 



as he was coming from a meeting held in a barn; but 
thought no more of him till that severe winter. Then 
he was in bed, one night, and, either asleep or awake, 
thought he heard a voice say, Send provisions to 
Caleb." Thinking it a dream, he tried to go to sleep, 
but heard the same words again, more loudly. He 
awoke his wife, who also thought it a dream; but, on 
a third call, he got up, called his man, loaded his 
horse, and sent him olf among the hills to find Caleb. 
It is no wonder that the man's only story on deliver- 
ing the load was, " God sent it, I believe." 

• 

O God of Betliel ! by whose hand 

Thy people still are fed; 
Who, through this weary pilgrimage 

Hast all our fathers led — 
Our vows, our prayers we now present 

Before thy throne of grace: 
God of our fathers ! be the God 

Of their succeeding race. 

Through each perplexing path of life, 

Our wandering footsteps guide; 
Give us each day our daily bread, 

And raiment fit provide. 
Oh spread thy covering wings around, 

Till all our wand'rings cease. 
And at our Father's loved abode, 

Our souls arrive in peace. 

Such blessings from thy gracious hand. 

Our humble prayers implore; 
And thou shalt be our chosen God 

And portion evermore. 

— John Logan. 



CHAPTEE IX. 



PBATEB FOR SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 
{Concluded.) 

Tliis subject is of such importance that another 
chapter must be devoted to it, and the more so, that 
even the church has so little faith in the promise : 
"Trust in the Lord, and do good: so shalt thou dwell 
in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed." Ps. xxxvii : 3. 

The Experience of Miss Lucy P. Deake. "When 
this page meets the eye of the reader. Miss Drake will 
probably be on her way to India, whither she goes as 
a faith-missionary, relying on God for support. The 
author's acquaintance with her is limited, though 
he has long and intimately known some of her rela- 
tives. Her experience of the healing power of the 
Lord will be found in a succeeding chapter. In con- 
nection with the present topic, she has kindly written 
out a narrative, which is now presented with slight 
abridgement. It is dated, Grove Hall, Boston High- 
lands, Mass., Sept. 10, 1875. 

"Many years ago, I wished to go as a missionary to 
India, but I knew that I could not obtain a certificate 
from any physician that I was in health, and therefore 
it would be useless to offer myself to any Board of 
Missions. It had never entered my mind, that I might 

(190) 



PRAYER FOE SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 191 



go as an independent missionary, and trust God to 
support me, instead of leaning upon a pledged salary; 
or, in otlier words, I never had seen the great practi- 
cal power in the words: 'Seek first the kingdom of 
God and his righteousness, and all these things shall 
he added unto you.^ 

" Upon entering a work where the manager and labor- 
ers v/ere having faith in God to care for their temporal 
wants, while they obeyed his call, [the Consumptive's 
Home, Boston,] I began to have some of the same 
faith in God, and relinquished my salary, which in 
this way would go into the Lord's treasury. But still 
I clung to the annual interest of a few hundred dollars 
I had saved, thinking that if I should come into great 
straits, I should have something to which I could 
turn. This implied a fear, a lack of trust, and I had 
according to my faith; for while this fear continued, 
I was obliged to live almost wholly upon this interest. 
I had held the three hundred dollars for some time as 
the Lord's, and finally he called for it to be put into 
the same treasury where my salary went. I simply 
asked that I might know his will, and be convinced 
that he did call upon me to give up all my dependence. 
I did so; without any eye bjit his beholding it, and 
he richly poured his blessings into my soul. I never 
have regretted it. 

"Full trust in him for temporal wants and money 
began now to work. The first lannch of faith was in 
reference to giving. One evening, raj heart had been 
wrung in deep anguish for my heathen sisters, and I 



192 PEATEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE AI^SWEES. 



"wished I had money to give toward their enlighten- 
ment. The thought came, whj not ask God for it; 
and I believed I might. In two hours — no person 
knowing of my prayer — a stranger came to me, at 
the close of a meeting, and said : ' I know nothing of 
yonr circumstances, but I cannot help giving yon five 
dollars.' At once I knew that my father had fulfilled 
the 'desire of them that fear him,' and I told the 
stranger where and how the money was designated. 
Similar instances have frequently occurred since. 

"As to temporal wants for myself, I soon came where 
I must ask, or go without positive necessaries. As a 
husband would not wish to have a w^ife going about 
and telling others her wants, but would wish to have 
the honor of supporting her, so I believed tliat my 
Savior wished me to whisper my needs in his ear alone. 
While seriously thinking what I was to do, in my 
then present need, the following passed in my mind: 
'What do you want? ' I want money. 'Then ask for 
it.' And I did, and I went home, that night, with 
the firm assurance that I should find much money; 
w^hich I did in a letter sent by a friend, who knew 
nothing of what I was passing through. In less than 
six months, the Lord gave me more than half of the 
three hundred dollars. I look to the indwelling Spirit 
to teach me how to pray for temporal things as well 
as spiritual, and I must say to his praise, that I never 
prayed for one, tw^o, ten, twenty, thirty, or fifty dollars, 
without obtaining exactly the sum I asked. Again, 
when it has appeared to me, that I needed certain ar- 



PEATEK FOR SUPPLY OF TEMPOEAL WANTS. 193 

tides of clothing, but still I did not Jcnow, I have 
asked him to send the money for them, or the clothes, 
if he saw it to be a need. Sometimes they have come, 
but not always: still it was blessed to know that if they 
did not come, it was not a need; for he hath promised 
to ' supply our need.' 

" I have been engaged in evangelistic work, in differ- 
ent parts of our country, for years, and never once 
have I been permitted to know a real necessity unmet, 
though sometimes placed in a strange city, not know- 
ing how I was to have the means to return home. Yet 
it always came, though sometimes by the hand of a 
stranger. I might be left, also, without a cent, but 
money came, ere I needed it. Trust for books and 
opportunities for mental improvement, to assist me in 
my work for souls, has also been rewarded most won- 
derfully. 

" Having been thus educated by the L(^d, it need be 
no matter of surprise, that, when the Lord Jesus com^ 
missioned me, last February, to go to India, to point 
those who ' sit in darkness ' to the blessed Lamb of God, 
while no support was pledged by man, yet I could 
have no fear that he who cares for the sparrows, would 
for me. I have only looked to the Lord, and after I 
was willing to go out as the disciples did, (Mat. x: 9, 
10,) he most abundantly supplied; so that even every 
thought and wish has been met by a tender Father, 
into whose ear alone my wants have been breathed. 
If my eyes had been opened, years ago, to see my 
privilege as a ' child,' or ' heir,' eight years more 



9 



194 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

might have been given to work in India. Every soul 
that shall find Christ through my instrumentality 
there, will praise God that he gave me faith to trust 
him for care of the body while engaged in his work. 
If a human parent only desired to have his child 
spiritually enlightened, but cared not whether he was 
fed or clothed, and did not provide for both, all would 
exclaim against him; yet our unbelief in our divine 
parent for these things robs him of much glory, and 
our souls of much comfort and freedom from anxious 
care about those things after which the Gentiles 
seek.' This life of trust in my Father for all my 
need, as the little child trusts its earthly parent, has 
become so delightful, that I rejoice in the prospect of 
going to India without any pledged support from 
man, to teach them there what a Father they have in 
heaven, who will 'freely give them all things,' wdth 
his dear Son." Rom. viii : 32. 

This is a Narrative of extraordinary interest, and 
modestly points out the way in w^iich one soul thinks 
it has been divinely led, in answer to prayer. Miss 
Drake does not assert that all souls are to be led in 
precisely the same way, or are to imitate the specific 
acts which she has performed. It does not follow 
that missionary societies are unwise, or that ladies 
who seek a missionary work are to refuse to go to the 
heathen under their auspices, merely because Miss 
Drake, with her peculiar training, finds the independ- 
ent method best suited to her aims and habits. Faith 
need put us in bondage to no one method. The im- 



PRATER FOR SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 195 

portant thing is to follow the movings of God's Spirit, 
the indications of his providence, and the directions 
of his word. Many have had the same spirit of con- 
secration and of faith, who have found their work in 
other ways, and have been prospered in»it marvel- 
ouslj. Each may be permitted to testify what God 
has done for and through him or her; but no one 
may make personal experience an iron rule for others. 
God led John the Baptist to a different work, and a 
different method, from that which he assigned to his 
Son Jesus. Yet each was accepted — John in his 
strict, ascetic life and legal preaching, and Jesus in 
his free social converse and doctrine of loving 
liberty. 

Billy Bray's Pulpit. Billy Bray was a Cornish 
miner, very poor, but very zealous and prayerful, and 
full of faith. He built several chapels, where he min- 
istered, as opportunity offered. One of these was at 
Kerley Downs, and it lacked a pulpit. Billy saw, at 
an auction of old furniture, a three-cornered cupboard, 
which he thought he could alter into a pulpit. He 
asked a man near him what it would go for, as he 
wanted it for a pulpit; and the man recognizing him, 
said it would bring about six shillings, and handed 
him the money as a gift for the object. When it was 
put up, Billy immediately bid six shillings; but, to 
his surprise and chagrin, a man behind him bid seven, 
and took it, as Billy had not a penny to add. " Well, 
Father do know best," said he, falling back on his 
faith; and down he went to his chapel to pray about 



196 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

it. Gaining fresli assurance there that all was right, 
he came out and saw the cupboard going along on a 
cart. He followed it, and it was carried to a house, 
where they tried in vain to get it through the door; it 
was just tC>o large! "Here's a mess," said the pur- 
chaser; I've given seven shillings for it, and now shall 
^ have to chop it up for firewood." J^ow was Billy's 
opportunity, and with twinkling eyes he stepped up, 
and said, " I'll give you six shillings for it, if you will 
carry it down to my little chapel." " That I will," 
cried the man, glad of the chance. "Bless the Lord!" 
ejaculated Billy; "'tis just like him. He knew I 
couldn't carry it myself, so he got this man to carry 
it for me." And was it not so? 

How A Slave obtained Freedom. In Prof. Park's 
memoir of Kev. Dr. Samuel Hopkins, he gives an 
account of a remarkable African, who was a slave in 
J^ewport, R. I., and who made great progress in self- 
education. The following account of the manner in 
which he gained his freedom rests on the authority 
of several eminent men, who knew the facts. The 
slave's name was I^ewport Gardner. "He was allowed 
to labor for his own profit during whatever time he 
might gain by extra diligence. The slave devoted all 
this gained time to procuring the means of liberating 
himself and family. He was finally advised by a 
deacon of Mr. Hopkins' church, to spend this time in 
fasting and prayer for his liberation; and he was 
assured of more rapid success in this course than in 
that of manual labor. Accordingly, having gained a 



PKATER FOR SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 197 

day, this pious negro, without communicating Ms 
plan to any but Mr. Hopkins and two or three Chris- 
tian friends, spent that day in secret fasting and 
prayer, that he might obtain his freedom. His mas- 
ter, totally ignorant of his slave's occupation, sent for 
him about four o'clock in the afternoon, but was told 
that ]!^ewport was engaged for himself, this being his 
gained day. ' ]N^o matter; call him,' says Captain 
Gardner. After some hesitation the slave was called, 
and his owner gave him a paper, on which was writ- 
ten: 'I, Caleb Gardner, of INewport, Ehode Island, 
do this day manumit and release forever, ^Tewport 
Gardner, his wife and children,' etc., etc., adding 
some conditions which could easily be complied with. 
The slave received his manumission with gratitude to 
his owner, but with still deeper gratitude to his all- 
wise Disposer above, who had signally answered his 
request for freedom, even hefore Jie had finished his 
supp lioationy 

Escape From a Bear. Rev. James French, a Bap- 
tist Home Missionary, in Colorado, writes to the 
author, that in 1874, Mr. I. H. Wilt, a devotedly pious 
brother, clerk of the Baptist church in Bear Canon, 
Douglas Co., Colorado, was hunting for cows, in the Foot 
Hills of the Rocky Mountains, not far from his home; 
when he was attacked by an enraged cinnamon bear, 
which had probably been wounded by some one shortly 
before. Having no means of defense, he sought to 
escape by climbing a tree, but was overtaken by the 
bear, who seized him from below by the feet, and tore 



198 PEATEE AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

liis boots with his teeth, and maPxgled his flesh to the 
bones. In his extremity he remembered that God of 
whom David said: "The Lord that delivered me out 
of the paw of the lion, and ont of the paw of the bear, 
he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine." 
1 Sam. xvii : 7. To use his own words, I cried unto 
the Lord." The prayer was instantly heard ; for the 
bear at once released his hold, and ran away. Mr. 
French says: " I saw him, when he was a cripple from 
his wonnds, and heard him relate how the Lord heard 
his prayer, when hope from all earthly sources had 
gone." Of course, in this, as in a multitude of 
other cases, one may say, that there was a mere natural 
coincidence; that just at the time the man called on 
God for help, the bear had exhausted his rage, and was 
ready to leave. But even a determined unbeliever 
must think the coincidence not only marvelously hap- 
py, but very singular, seeing that the bear not only 
ceased inflicting wounds, but, instead of sitting down 
to watch, as if seized with a sudden panic, inconti- 
nently ran away ! Certainl}^ one cannot censure the 
saved man, if in his gratitude, he thinks that God 
heard his prayer, and as surely delivered him from 
death, as he did Daniel in the den of lions. 

Repeated Instances of Help. A lady-missionary 
writing, Sept. IT, 1875, from a New' England city, 
bears this testimony to the author, of God's faithful- 
ness in sending needed aid: "In my own case, it has 
occurred several times. Once, being out of money 
and provisions, I asked my dear Heavenly Father to 



PBAYER FOE SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 199 

give me mj daily bread. In less than an hour, one 
nearly a stranger handed me three dollars. Several 
times, when awaj from home, and nearly out of monej^, 
my wants have been met, in answer to prayer; and 
in every instance, the persons giviog me the money 
knew nothing of my special needs. Once, when 
house-rent became due, and I had no money, I asked 
the Lord for it, and a person called and paid a debt 
amounting to more than was needed. One morning, 
two years ago, the promise in my Text-book was, ' He 
shall give thee the desire of thy heart;' and feeling the 
special need of counsel and advice, I asked the Lord 
to send to me Rev. Henry Belden, of Brooklyn, E". Y., 
from whom we had not heard for many months. He 
came that day, on the noon train. One bitter cold 
night, two years ago, last winter, a widow lady living 
in Connecticut, being very destitute, arose at the mid- 
night hour, and asked God to send help. That same 
night, a cousin of hers, living in Louisiana, from whom 
she had not heard for years, was so exercised in mind 
that he could not sleep, and he arose and asked God to 
bless the suiFering poor. While praying, he thought 
of this cousin, though not supposing her to be needy. 
Yet his impressions became such that, at day-break, 
he rode several miles on horseback to a bank, and sent 
her a check of fifty dollars." 

Anticipative Answer to Prayer. One of the pe- 
culiarly interesting facts brought out in the experience 
of God's people is, that he often anticipates their 
wants and provides a supply ; but does not reveal what 



200 PSATEK AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 



he has done, till the exigency arrives, and earnest 
prayer is offered for divine aid. Then it appears that 
God had planned that the help shonid come just at 
the time Avhen the soul, through a sense of want, prayer 
and faith, was prepared to appreciate the gift, and to 
receive with it a spiritual blessing. The following inci- 
dent occurred among the family connections of the 
author. 

A lady in a 'New England city, who was possessed 
of some property, made her will two or three years 
before her death. In planning for the wisest disposal 
of her estate, she determined to remember quite a 
circle of relatives and connections whose means were 
limited. Among others to whom a bequest of five 
hundred dollars was made, was one from whom she 
had not heard for years, and who had removed to some 
unknown part of the great West. After the lady's 
death, her brother, the executor, proceeded to carry 
out her bequests. In a letter to the author he says: 

" Five hundred dollars were left to a lady whose res- 
idence I did not know. Upon inquiry, I heard she 
was in California or Oregon. I sent a notification to 
her, by letter, of the bequest, wishing to know how I 
should forv/ard it to her. After awaiting reply for 
several months, and hearing nothing, I made further 
inquiries, and learned that she was in Ohio; and, the 
same day, I received my original letter from the dead 
letter otiice, Washington, with an inscription on it, 
that it had been advertised and not called for. I im- 
mediately wrote to Ohio, saying I had this $500 for 



PEAYER FOR SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WAOTS. 201 



lie% and was desirous of paying it, to close the estate. 
The within extract from her reply will give yoi:i the 
result : 

' I cannot express the pleasure with which I have 
received your letter. The gift itself came so oppor- 
tunely, and so much as if sent from God, that I could 
but say, Praise the Lord! As you, I believe, are a 
Christian, I will, for your own encouragement in the 
Christian life, tell you my experience of an answer to 
prayer. Last Friday night was almost a sleepless one 
to me, on account of a pecuniary pressure, just at tha,t 
time, for five hundred dollars. I will not detail all 
the circumstances: sufficient to say, that after a sleep- 
less night, and seeing no way out of the darkness, I 
was led to throw my burden on the Lord, and ask him 
if he would not please to send help that day. This I 
did sincerely, and left it all there, feeling easy then, in 
my mind. I did not worry at all through the day, 
Saturday, and at the close of the day, your letter was 
brought to me. Can I ever do anything else but trust 
my Heavenly Father % While my angel-mother is walk- 
ing those golden streets, will it not please her, if her 
children live by faith, here below, and trust him who 
has said, ^ Leave thy fatherless children with me.' ? 
' When my father and mother forsake me, then the 
Lord will take me up.' " 

Here was a case in which the words of Scripture 
were fulfilled: "And it shall come to pass, that before 
they call I will answer; and while they are yet speak- 
ing I will hear." Is. Ixv: 24, This language implies, 



202 PEAYEK AND ITS EEMAKKABLE ANSWEK5. 

that God foresees both the wants and the prayer^ of 
his people, and provides the needed answer by way 
of anticipation. He kindly led to the remembrance 
of this needy lady in the will of, her relative; for wise 
reasons he allowed her place of residence to remain 
unknown to the executor, till the exact time when it 
was necessary that he should learn it, so that the requi- 
site aid should be sent to his praying child; he inspir- 
ed his child to come filially to her Heavenly Father; 
and then he rewarded her faith. This is an illustra- 
tion of the fact that God makes prayer an element of 
his plan of the world ; that he so orders his providen- 
ces, that they leave a place for prayer in the midst of 
second causes, and thus secure temporal and spiritual 
good at the same time. 

Another Similar Case. As it is instructive to 
notice how God plans, on the one side, to allow trials 
to lead his people to prayer, and on the other, to pro- 
vide the answer for that prayer when it shall have been 
offered, the author would add another case, both of the 
parties to which are personally known to him, and 

from one of whom he obtained the facts. Mr. T 

was a gentleman, doing business at the time in the city 
of Philadelphia. He had set apart twenty-five dollars 
for Home Missions, and was about to enclose that sum 
in a letter to the Society at ITew York. Suddenly the 

thought occurred to him that Rev. Mr. L was 

doing home-missionary work in Illinois, and that it 
might be well to send the money to him. He did so. 
And what was happening in Illinois, in the home of 



PKAYER FOK SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 203 



Mr. L ? His good wife was in great distress over 

ail empty family- treasury. Bills were coming in, and 
there was no money with which to meet them. Hav- 
ing no human resource, she went to her closet, and 
prayed earnestly that God would send help, deceiv- 
ing comfort from this appeal, she went about her do- 
mestic duties, and a little after, a letter was brought 
from the post-office, which proved to be the one from 
Philadelphia with the twenty-five dollars. 

Peayek Delivers from Unjust Wrath. All the 
parties to the following narrative were well known to 
the author, who received the account from the person 
principally interested: 

A pastor at the east. Rev. Dr. P , visiting Mr. 

E , a sick parishoner, found him so evidently 

marked for death, that he advised him to attend, with- 
out delay, to any worldly arrangements he might wish 

to make. Mr. E desired the pastor to call upon 

his lawyer, and send him to the house, that he might 
draw up a will; which he did. The pastor had been 
intimate with the family for many years. The father- 
in-law, Mr. A , on coming home, and learning 

that the pastor had been there, and afterwards the 
lawyer, became very angry, and sent a most insulting 
letter to the pastor, forbidding him ever again to call 
at his house. The pastor wrote back a kind note of 
explanation, which was returned unopened, with 
another angry and insulting letter, refusing to receive 
any explanations. The pastor then requested a com- 
mon friend of both parties, Mr. S , to call upon 



204 PEAYER AND ITS REM ARTs A BLE ANSWERS. 



Mr. A , and read to him a full statement of tlie 

facts. He called, but was not allowed to read the 
communication, or to make any verbal statement. 
The pastor then laid the whole matter before God in 
prayer, for several days. One morning, wdien in his 
study, and on his knees, pleading with God to take, 

away the unjust wrath of Mr. A , and to restore 

the warm friendship which had long existed between 
the two families, there was a ring at the door. A 
servant knocked at the study, announcing a gentle- 
man. The pastor opened the door, when in rushed 

Mr. A , the tears running down his cheeks, and 

crying out: "O, my dear pastor, can you forgive me 
the deep wrong I have done you?" He fell upon his 
knees, in his earnestness, and begged for forgiveness. 
Thus the answer came, even while the prayer was on 
the lips. 

Reconciliation Effected. A letter from a lady 
to the author gives this further illustration of tlie 
value of prayer in reconciling those alienated: "The 
writer knows a Christian woman, who, on account of 
business matters, had brought on herself, without just 
cause, the dire displeasure of another woman, nearly 
allied to her; and for a long time all intercourse was 
denied her by the latter. Having occasion to go to 
the same place, the first mentioned, on the journey, 
laid the case before the Father, who hears when his 
children cry to him. She begged him, if he so pleased, 
to heal this breach in his own way, though to her it 
seemed almost an impossibility. Some hours after 



PKATEK FOS SUPPLY OF TEMPOEAL WANTS. 205 



her arrival, a note from the offended one was bronglit 
to the house where she was, inviting her to dine; as 
though nothing unpleasant had existed. The first 
expression of her heart was, 'What hath God 
wrought!' With thankfulness she accepted the invita- 
tion, and so those two near and dear ones, alienated 
for so long a time, were joined in loving intercourse." 

Another Prayek for Kain. This same lady writes 
also, that during the ministry of Eev. Mr. R., in the 
village of C, there was a season of drouth, so severe 
and long-continued, that the church felt that they 
must meet and call on God to grant them the blessing 
without which both man and beast must sufier. They 
met, and earnest, believing prayer was made. • On 
their way from the meeting, they saw, like Elijah, 
signs of rain, and ere long copious showers testified 
to the goodness and faithfulness of a prayer-hearing 
God. 

Miss Annie Shipton and the Bund Boy. Miss 
Shipton is the author of several spiritual books, which 
have been widely circulated, on both sides of the At- 
lantic. One of these is called, " The Secret of the 
Lord," in which she gives this bit of experience. She 
read in a religious paper an account of a blind boy, 
who was learning to read by means of raised letters; 
and was deeply impressed with the conviction that she 
should send him something, and the amount also 
seemed to be fixed at eighteen pence. She believed it 
was of the Spirit of God, and although she did not 
know the boy's exact direction, she wrote a letter, en- 



206 PEAYER AND ITS KEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 



closed in it tlie money and a text of Scripture, wliicli 
occurred to her, placed it in a large black-bordered 
envelope, and sent it to a friend, wlio lived in the 
same village with the boy. Two months after, during 
a season of deep depression, a christian friend called 
on her, and in conversation said: " So yon have a cor- 
respondent at K ?" "1^0," she replied; " I have 

none there." "That is strange," he answered; "I 
thought I knew your handwriting. I was in a cottage 
there, one day, and among the papers and letters in the 
casement I saw a black-bordered envelope. This at- 
tracted my attention, and I said to the wom.an, ' Who 
is your correspondent?' 'Ah, sir,' she replied, ' that 
is a 'wonderful a,nswer to prayer. Poor Leonard has 
his blind-books, you know. He has almost all the 
Testament now, and he wanted a box for them. The 
carpenter said he would make him one for fifteen 
pence. So Leonard prayed to the Lord to send him 
the money. There came this letter, as you see, with 
eighteen pence, in stamps, and this text, which was 
indeed for him. We don't know the name, but Leon- 
ard always ]3i'ays for his ' friend in London.' " Miss 
Shipton naturally adds: "Precious, precious return! 
A flood of thanksgiving rushed through my clouded 
heart, and carried doubt and distrust away." 

Peater in Sundry Exigencies. It is often a ques- 
tion, how far we may refer the smallest matters of life 
to God; and no other reply would seem to be appro- 
priate except this: that God is interested in erery- 
thing which affects the happiness of his children. A 



PEAYEK FOS SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 20T 



letter, now before the writer, from Hev. S. A. Dwin- 
nell, of Reedsburg, Wis., communicates a series of 
facts as follows: A Mr. H — — , a man miglitj in tlie 
Scriptures and in prayer, said to Mr. D.: "At one 
time, while in Baraboo, we were reduced to great 
straits for food. I said to my wife, we are shut up to 
God, and must carry our wants to him in special 
prayer. We did so. About two hours afterwards, I 
sent my son to the post office, and he returned with a 
letter from England. I opened it, and found a five 
pound note ($25) enclosed. It was from an old friend, 
v/ho said, ' I have a strong impression that you are in 
want, and hasten to send you the enclosed bank-note, 
without waiting to get a draft.' The impression was 
evidently from God directly, as he had no earthly 
reason for supposing that I and my family were at 
that time in want." 

Mr. D. continues: *' In the summer ot 1870, I v/as 
teaching a Bible-class, on Sabbath mornings. One day, 
two ministers were present, and the subject for exam- 
ination was prayer in secular matters. One of the 
ministers, Eev. Mr, Snell, related the following: Some 
years ago, one of my neighbors, a wicked man, had 
legal possession of a land-title, v/hich morally belonged 
to me. He had for a long time refused to give it up 
to me. There seemed to be no hope of obtaining it, 
unless God should directly influence him. The docu- 
ment was of great value to me. Having made the 
case a matter of special prayer, I went to see him. I 
found him with several companions in a bar-room, 



208 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

somewliat nnder the influence of liqnor. Unfavorable 
as were the circumstances in which I found him, I 
took him to a retired pa.rt of the room, and made an 
earnest effort to obtain the paper. He refused to give 
it up. I started for home, and got as far as the door, 
when he called me to come back. I again used every 
argument in my power to move him; but he was inex- 
orable. I was about to leave, when he again recalled 
me. This was three times repeated, wiien he finally 
yielded, and gave up the document. It seemed to me 
that God directly moved him to do it." 

The other minister, Eev. H. H. Hinman, said: A 
few years ago, when I was a missionary at Meudi, on 
the western coast of Africa, I was sent, one time, with 
my family, into the interior, one hundred miles from 
our base of supplies, and entirely among the heathen. 
After a time, from some failure in forwarding provis- 
ions, we were left in utter destitution, and could only 
appeal to God for help. Soon after, a native, whom 
we had never seen before, and never saw afterwards, 
came and left us a supply of food, which lasted us 
until more was forwarded us from the mission. It 
seemed that God directly moved upon the mind of 
that native to help us in our extremity. We could 
see no other reason. 

Mr. D. continues, with reference to answers received 
when he was superintending the repairs on his church: 
" One day I sent an order to the furnace at Ironton, 
for weights to hang the window- sash. I learned, 
when too late to change the order, that they each 



PRAYER FOR SUPPLY OF TEMPORAL WANTS. 209 

should have been a pound heavier than I had ordered. 
I could only carry the case to God, and ask him to 
rectify the mistake. After a few days, I received a 
letter from the proprietor of the foundry, saying: 'I 
have filled your order, but by some unaccountable 
mistake on the part of my pattern-maker, they are 
each a pound too heavy. If you can use them you 
can have them at a discount; otherwise I will keep 
them.' " 

The Smaller Events of Life. A letter from Mr. 
F., a Massachusetts pastor, relates his unsuccessful 
search for a valuable knife, prized as a present from a 
friend, on a laurel-covered hill-side; a pause for prayer, 
and immediate success thereafter. It also mentions 
the case of a friend in a responsible position under the 
government, whose accounts failed to balance by 
reason of an error, which, after long search, he could 
not detect. In great distress, he betook himself to 
prayer, and then opening his books, on the very first 
page which he happened to glance at, and at the top 
of the column, he saw instantly the. looked-for error 
standing out so plainly, that he wondered he had not 
seen it before. A lost rubber shoe promptly recovered 
after prayer, is also mentioned, and the writer of the 
letter suggests that such cases are " quite as convinc- 
ing as some of more dignity and importance." 

Another correspondent, Mr. T. S, Goodwin, M. D., 
of Staten Island, is of the same mnnd, and writes of 
his boyish experience, when thirteen years old. lie 
lost a choice penknife, while collecting and driving 

9^ 



210 PEAYER AND ITS EEMAKKABLE ANSWERS. 



several cows, from a pasture covered witli grass two 
inclies liigli. Having read Huntington's Book of 
Faith, he bethought him of prayer, and, in child-like 
trust, he knelt under a tree, outside the bars, and 
prayed for his lost treasure; for he was a farmer's 
boy, and his spending money amounted to only about 
fifty cents a year. His words are: "I rose up, cast 
my eyes do^vn on the ground, and without planning 
my course, or making any estimate of probabilities, 
walked across the meadow centrally to near its farther 
edge, saw the penknife down in the grass directly 
before me, and picked it up — all as readily as I could 
have done had any one stood there pointing to the 
exact place. Had I gone two feet to the right or left, 
I could not have seen the knife, for the grass." This 
fact is inserted the more readily because it may 
encourage children to go to their Heavenly Father 
with their troubles, believing that he is not above 
listening to their prayers. It is a blessed thing to 
learn early to make God our confidant. 

Still another writes of his experience as a teacher. 
He lost a silver-mounted penholder, which had been 
presented to him, and feared that some scholar had 
stolen it. Unwilling to charge or suspect the school, 
he knelt in prayer, during recess, when all the pupils 
were out, and asked God to help in the emergency. 
He called the scholars in, and then went out himself, 
to bring in wood for the fire ; and as he stooped down, 
at the wood-pile, there lay the lost penholder on the 
ground, where it had dropped the previous day, from 



PEAYER FOE SUPPLY OF TEMPOEAL WANTS. 211 

behind his ear. He was thus saved from even men- 
tioning the matter to the schooL 

God's people shonld consult him frankly in what- 
ever concerns their welfare. Parents should praj about 
the little matters which pertain to their children; ladies 
should talk over their domestic affairs with the 
Lord; business men should spread out their plans and 
wants before the mercy-seat; and the poor, who need 
employment, or a specific supply, as of a hat, a coat, or 
a pair of shoes, should tell the fact to their Heavenly 
Father. They would receive many gifts by so doing. 

Thy thoughts are good, and thou art kind, 

E'en when we think it not; 
How many an anxious, faithless mind 

Sits grieving o'er its lot, 
And frets and pines by day and night, 
As God had lost it out of sight, 

And all its wants forgot. 

Ah, no! God ne'er forgets his own. 

His heart is far too true; 
He ever seeks their good alone. 

His love is daily new, 
And though thou deem that things go ill, 
Yet he is just and holy still, 

In all things he can do. 

The Lord is ever close and near 

To those who keep his word; 
Whene'er they cry to him in fear. 

Their prayer is surely heard; 
He knoweth well who love him well; 
His love shall yet their clouds dispel, 

And grant the hope deferred. 

— Paul Gerliardt. 



CHAPTEE XII. 



PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 
{Commenced.) 

There is a great truth, with much adjacent error, 
connected with the subject of physical healing in 
answer to prayer. The famous words of James are 
frequently misunderstood: "Is any sick among you ? 
Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them 
pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of 
the Lord; and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, 
and the Lord shall raise him up, and if he have com- 
mitted sins they shall be forgiven him. Confess your 
faults one to another, and pray one for another, that 
ye ma}^ be healed." James v: 14, 15. It will be seen 
that sickness and sin are here connected, as are also 
healing and forgiveness. This naturally points to the 
fact that God had sent upon some of the churches 
physical judgments for their sins; as Paul informs us, 
in the words : " For this cause many are weak and sickly 
among you, and many sleep (die)." 1 Cor. x: 30. 
John also is supposed by some, to refer to the same 
fact (but this is more doubtful) when he says: " If any 
man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, 
he shall ask, and he shall give him life for tliem that 
sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death : I do 

(212) 



PEAYEK FOE PHYSICAL HEALINa. 213 

not say that he shall pray for it." 1 John v: 16. If 
James had in view only this class of cases, then he 
simply authorizes a specific faith for such persons ; 
that on confession of their sin, and the offering of 
prayer by the officers of the church, they should be 
forgiven and healed. 

Or James may be speaking in a general way of the 
value of faith, not pausing to name other qualifications, 
which were to be taken for granted. Mere emphasis of 
faith must not be mistaken for the assertion of a narrow 
rule, to cover all cases of illness. That would be to 
abolish death in the Christian church. It would also 
seem probable, that the apostles and others in the 
primitive churches who had the miraculous "gift of 
healing" (1 Cor. xii: 9-28), received an inward inti- 
mation from the Holy Spirit, when they were to exer- 
cise the gift, and feel assured of a specific answer to 
prayer. Otherwise Paul, instead of having occasion 
to write to Timothy, " Trophimus have I left at Mile- 
tum, sick," would have healed his friend, and taken 
him with him. The gift was only for use on fit occas- 
ion suggested by the Holy Spirit. 

We come, then, to the conclusion that, in all cases 
of illness, it is our privilege to offer prayer for recov- 
ery, with a submission of the case to the divine will, 
and an assured faith that God will actually secure the 
healing, if such a result is best; that fact being some- 
times preintimated. A multitude of instances will be 
found in which the answer comes in a way so striking 
— it may be, in the assurance gained, the means used, 



214 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 



the person called in, the peculiar effect prodnced, or 
the time when it took place — that one cannot fail to 
recognize the divine intervention. The prayers being 
conditional, however, those are not to be considered 
unanswered, which are not followed by healing ; since 
other needed blessings may be attached to the sick- 
ness, or to its results. What we really ask is, that 
our Heavenly Father will do the best thing possible, 
in each case; adding his blessing to the means which 
we appropriately use; whether it be anointing with 
oil, as in James's day, or resorting to other remedial 
agencies, now deemed beneficial. There is no reason 
why prayer should not be accompanied by appropriate 
effort, in Qiis class of cases, as it is in other cases. 
Yv^e will attend to the testimony of facts as to its suc- 
cess in healing in our own days. 

Dorothea Trijdel's Prayer-Cure. If the reader 
has never met with a little volume, entitled " Dorothea 
Trudel, or The Prayer of Faith," he will do well to 
obtain and read it, It is but a brief sketch that can 
here be given of its contents. Dorothea Trudel, who 
lived in Switzerland, inherited her faith in prayer; for 
she said: " Our mother was permitted in a wonderful 
manner to meet with events which passed all general 
experience. We were taught to acknowledge that the 
Lord alone is the true Physician, by the fact that no 
other was summoned, when w^e or she herself were 
ill; and when I was attacked by small-pox, at four 
years old, and almost blinded by it, while my brother, 
who was fourteen, w^as seized with epilepsy, our mother 



PRAYER FOE PHYSICAL HEALING. 215 



believed and trusted, that the Lord would help ; and 
in a short time we both recovered." Dorothea's own 
experience in that line began when, among a number 
of workmen employed by her nephew and herself, four 
fell seriously ill, and steadily grew worse under the 
care of the pliysician, until their case became quite 
alarming. Then she bethought her of the promise in 
James, and laid the matter earnestly and believingly 
before the Lord, and all four recovered. Her prayers 
in other cases were so signally answered, that the wife 
of a nobleman urged her to open her house to receive 
patients; and, notwithstanding her refusal to do so, 

sent patients to her. One, a Madame M , the 

mother of twelve children, had been sent away from a 
a lunatic asylum uncured; but after being with Doro- 
thea a few weeks, she went away permanently cured. 
The patients so increased, that a second little house 
had to be purchased. After a time, a storm of perse- 
cution burst upon her head. She was prosecuted for 
practicing as a physician, and the two lower courts 
fined her, and ordered her houses to be closed to pa- 
tients. She says: " Though it was the most grievous 
day in my life, I obeyed the command; but houses so 
liastily emptied filled as fast as ever with the blind, 
the lame and the deaf, for whom the Lord did great 
things." An appeal was taken to a higher court of 
law, where hundreds of testimonials were presented in 
her favor, and Bishop von Kapii and Professor A. 
Tholuck bore witness to her self-denying zeal and 
earnest prayers. Her counsellor, Mr. Spondlin, of 



216 PEATER AKD ITS EEMARKAELE ANSWERS. 



Zurich, made a powerful speecli in lier belialf, in wliicli 
lie urged that Miss Trudel's whole influence was 
brought to bear on the soul ; that she promised no one 
a cure, nor jet pronounced any sickness incurable, but 
said to each patient: "If jou only believe, jou may 
be healed by prayer; let God decide;" that most of her 
patients w^ere such as had already exhausted medical 
assistance without avail; and that the doctors had 
brought the charge against her, without once examin- 
ing her establishment, nor could they show a case in 
w^liich a single person had experienced any evil effect. 
The prosecution admitted it all, and only argued that 
so many sick people must not be allowed to crowd to 
one place. But the Court decided in favor of Miss 
Trudel, and threw the costs on her prosecutors. The 
trial lasted from March to l^ovember, 1861, and drew 
such attention to the house that only a small propor- 
tion of the applicants could be received. On carefully 
reviewing the facets detailed in the volume, they may 
be thus classified: 

1. Miss Trudel felt that a thorough self-abnega- 
tion and consecration on her own part was essential to 
success. She declared that she had now learned what 
it v/as to " be nothing." "When a rationalistic clergy- 
man asked her how these v/onders were performed, she 
replied: "Nothing is done by us; all these marvels in 
bodies and souls are wrought by the strength of 
Christ's blood ! " When he answered that he did not 
believe in the blood of Jesus, she said: "It would be 
a poor thing for me to say only that I Relieve \vl the 



PEAYEK FOK PHYSICAL HEALING. 



217 



blood ; no, it is my element, and it is only because 
Christ lias become an offering for my sins, by tlie sac- 
rifice of bis body and blood, that I can stand here and 
perform all these wonders." 

2. She aimed primarily at spiritual results in her 
patients. This she did, because she deemed them the 
more important, and because they had a bearing on 
the cure of disease. She believed disease to be ao^orra- 
vated, if not caused by sin; and she wished the pray- 
ers of the patient to be added to her own, for the de- 
sired blessing. Hence she sought the conversion of 
the nncon verted, and the elevation of the piety of 
others. For this purpose, she held every afternoon, 
from three to four o'clock, a Bible-lesson with them 
collectively, and during the rest of the day she talked 
with them singly. The physical improvement often 
kept exact pace with their spiritual healing. 

3. "While she prescribed no medicine, but only 
anointed with oil, laid on her hands, and offered 
prayer, she yet did not neglect all natural auxilaries. 
Her patients were most carefully and wisely nursed, 
and their minds were brought out from under the de- 
pressing influences. No doubt good nursing and a 
cheerful, patient and hopeful mind are better than 
mediciii6 alone, in an average of cases. Yet it would 
hardly be advisable for physicians to attribute Miss 
Trudel's success purely to those agencies, lest they dis- 
credit the value of their own professional services. 
As some insisted that her influence was simply mes- 
meric, it may be well to state, that her slight touch, 

10 



218 PEAYER AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 



as she prayed, would hardly supply the necessary mes- 
meric conditions, especially as her own health was very 
feeble; and that a French gentleman, who came as a 
ppttient with that idea, carefully investigated the pro- 
ceedings in the institution, and left thoroughly satis- 
fied that that theory would not answer. Once, Doro- 
thea made this point a subject of special prayer, at a 
time when she was asked to visit an out-patient. She 
refused to go to the lady's house, but made her the 
subject of special prayer, and she was speedily cured, 
without any contact. 

4. She promised no cures whatever, nor looked for 
instantaneous relief. She did not claim to be clothed 
with any miraculous power. She asserted that, in 
answer to believing prayer, by truly consecrated souls, 
God often healed the sick; but that no one could tell 
in advance what God would see to be for his glory in 
a particular case. Usually, the recovery, tliough 
prompt in commencing, was gradual in accomplish- 
ment. Yet many very striking cases occurred. We 
are told that on one occasion a young artisan arrived, 
in whom cancer had made such progress as to render 
any approach to him almost unbearable. At the 
Bible-lessons this once frivolous man became an ear- 
nest inquirer, and learned that he must seek first a 
spiritual improvement; and from the day he confessed 
his sins, the disease abated. Some time later, he ac- 
know^ledged a sin previously concealed, and then speed- 
ily recovered his bodily health, and returned home 
cured in body and soul. A lady in S , fell and 



PEAYER FOE PHYSICAL HEALII^G. 



219 



injured her knee, so that for weeks she lay in the 
greatest agony, and the physician declared that dropsy 
would supervene. But when Dorothea, in her usual 
way, prayed, and laid on her hands, the knee was 
cured in twenty-four hours. 

5. Her assistants were her sister, four nurses, and 
Mr. Samuel Zeller, brother-in-law of Bishop Gobat, 
of Jerusalem — all like-minded with herself, and serv- 
ing night and day without remuneration. 'No fee 
was taken from the patients, but a small sum was 
accepted from the rich for their board, while the poor 
were fed gratuitously. 

The institution, which was at Mannedorf, a little 
village on Lake Zurich, is still carried on since the 
death of Miss Trudell, by Mr. Zeller, who reports that 
while cures are by no means invarial)le, a multitude 
of favorable results are obtained, even in apparently 
desperate cases, such as epilepsy, which is a peculiarly 
obstinate disease, and in lunacy, and maladies occa- 
sioned by Spiritualism. The prayers seem also to be 
as prevalent when offered for patients who cannot 
come to the institution, and who are aided in soul as 
well as in body. One such case has, incidentally, a 
peculiar interest. A gentleman wrote to have prayer 
offered for his niece, who was threatened with blind- 
ness. Soon after, he wrote again as follows: "In 
answer to your prayers for our niece, I must thank- 
fully tell you, her eyes are so much better, that the 
doctor this morning told her to thank God for having 
saved her from the most dangerous kind of a cataract. 



220 PEATER AND ITS KEIMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

While examining lier eyes, the doctor, who is a Jew, 
took up a book lying near, and opening it, told her to 
try and read, which she was able to do with ease. It 
was a hymn-book, and the words on which her eyes 
fell were these: 

" Christ Jesus, glorious King of Liglit, 
Great Conqueror, David's heir, 
Come, now, and give my blind eyes sight; 
O Savior, hear my prayer!" 

"'That will do,' said the doctor; 'you are much 
better.' I, for my part, hastened to my chamber, and, 
shutting the door, fell on my knees with a cry of joy- 
ful praise." Patients continue to arrive in such 
numbers that larger accommodations are pressingly 
needed. 

Case of Mrs. Jane C. Miller. The author of this 
book has the pleasure of a slight acquaintance with 
Mrs. Miller, and her husband, Eev. Daniel R. Miller, 
and has heard the facts stated below from their own 
lips. Eev. Charles G. Finney, ex-President of Oberlin 
College, furnished to The Advance^ then under the 
writer's charge, her statement, with these remarks: 
"Mrs. Miller is the wife of a Congregational minister, 
and a lady of unquestionable veracity. However the 
fact of her healing is to be accounted for, her story is 
no doubt worthy of entire confidence, as we have 
known her for years, as a lame, suffering invalid, and 
now see her in our midst, in sound health. This 
instantaneous restoration will be accounted for by dif- 



PKAYEK FOE PHYSICAL HEALING. 



221 



ferent persons in different ways. Mrs. Miller, and 
those who were present, regard the healing as super- 
natural, and a direct answer to prayer. The facts 
must speak for themselves. Why should not the sick 
be healed in answer to the prayer of faith? Unbelief 
can discredit them, but faith sees nothing incredible 
in such facts as stated by Mrs. Miller." 

Mrs. Miller's own statement was published in The 
Advance of Dec. 26, 1872, and is as follows: 

" From my parents I inherited a constitution sub- 
ject to a chronic form of rheumatism, which affected 
my whole system. For nearly forty years I was sub- 
ject to more or less suffering from this cause. For 
seven years, until the last three months, I have been 
unable to get about without the aid of crutch or staff ; 
generally both. I have used many liniments and 
remedies, but with no permanently good result. Last 
summer (1872), several of us. Christian sisters, were 
in the habit of spending short seasons of prayer 
together. Some of our number had read the narrative 
of Dorothea Trudell, and had spoken to me on the sub- 
ject of healing in answer to prayer. My faith had 
not then risen to this elevation. I had, in fact, ac- 
cepted what I supposed to be the will of God, and 
made up my mind to be a lame and suffering invalid, 
the rest of my life. I had long since ceased to use 
remedies for the restoration of my health, and had not 
even thought of praying in regard to it. ]>[otwith- 
standing what had been said to me, I remained in this 
opinion and attitude until the 26th of September last, 



222 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

when several ladies met at our house, by appointment, 
for a prayer meeting. I had grown worse for some 
time, and was then unable to get out to attend a meet- 
ing. I was suffering much pain, that afternoon; in- 
deed, I was hardly able to be out of my bed. One 
lady was present, who could speak to me, from her 
own experience, of being healed in answer to the 
prayer of faith. She related several striking instances 
in which her prayers had been answered, in removal 
of divers forms of disease to which she was subject. 
She also repeated a number of passages of Scripture, 
which clearly justified the expectation of being healed, 
in answer to the prayer of faith. She also said, that 
Jesus had shown her that he. was just as ready to heal 
diseases now, as he was when on earth; that such 
healing was expressly promised in Scripture, in an- 
swer to the prayer of faith, and that it was no where 
taken back. These facts, reasonings, and passages of 
Scripture made a deep impression on my mind, and 
for the first time I found myself able to believe that 
Jesus would heal me in answer to prayer. She asked 
me if I could join my faith with hers, and ask for 
present healing. I told her, I felt that I could. We 
then knelt, and called upon the Lord. She offered a 
mighty prayer to God, and I followed. "While she 
was leading in prayer, I felt a quickening in my w^hole 
being; whereupon my pain subsided, and when we 
rose from prayer, I felt that a great change had come 
over me — that I was cured ! I found that I could 
walk without my staff or crutch, or any assistance from 



PEAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 



223 



any one. Since then my pains have never returned. 
I have more than my youthful vigor. I walk with 
more ease and rapidity than I ever did in my life; and 
I never felt so fresh and young, as I now do, at the 
age of fifty- two. I^ow the ciii Psalm is my Psalm, 
and my youth is more than renewed like the eagle's. 
I cannot express the constant joy of my heart, for the 
wonderful healing of my soul and body. I feel as if 
I was made every whit whole. 

Jane C. Miller." - 
A year later, Mrs. Miller wrote to a friend, under 
date of Dec, 1873, a letter in which she says: I know 
not of any one who is able to perform the amount of 
labor I am; was out ail day, yesterday, canvassing for 
the Advocate and Guardian^ and soliciting funds to 
fill our box, and have done this, day after day, besides 
doing most of my housework and out-chores, as my 
husband is always absent in winter, laboring as an 
evangelist. It has rained most of the week, yet I have 
not felt it. and am not only healed, but all tendency to 
the old difficulty seems removed. Bless the Lord, O 
my soul! ' " 

Kev. Daniel P. Miller, her husband, confirms the 
statem.ent of his wife, in these words, under date of 
Oberlin, O., August 6, 1873: " She had been unab|e to 
walk without crutches, for a series of years. A long 
time ago, we tried many remedies and physicians, witii 
no lasting good results, and were expecting she would 
remain an invalid. Of late she had applied no remedy, 
nor taken any medicine. At the time of her cure, she 



224 



PSATEE AND ITS EEMASKAELE ANSWERS. 



was mucli worse than for a long while before, being in 
great pain continually, nntil the moment she fully 
believed, and i?z an instant she was restored to perfect 
soundness." 

Another confirmatory statement is signed by seven 
of her nearest relations and connections, and by four 
neighbors, including a deacon of the church and two 
ministers of the gospel. 

The HEALma of a Child. The case just stated 
led to another, an account of which was forwarded by 
a friend to The Advance^ and it was published in that 
paper. A more careful account was after vv^ards pre- 
pared by the mother, a,nd also by the ftither, with 
whom the author has conversed personally, in respect 
to his daughter. The parents are Kev. Albert Coimett 
and Mrs. Anna E. W. Connett. At the time referred 
to, he was settled at Carbondale, Kansas, but has since 
removed to Solsberry, Ind. The mother's account is 
as follows: "About the middle of September, 1871, 
our eldest girl, I^ettie, then nearly eight years old, 
began complaining of her left leg. The physicians 
pronounced it sciatic rheumatism. At times her suf- 
ferings were very great. Frequently she would not 
walk for a week. She w^as lame all the time, and never 
free from pain. In the fall of 18T2, she seemed worse; 
one limb seemed higher than the other, and that 
limb shrinking away. It was not nearly so large as 
the other. We called in the physicians again. They 
said the indications v/ere, that it was hip-disease. We 
wrote to the Surgical Institute, at Indianapolis, in 



PEAYEK FOK PHYSICAL HEALING. 



225 



regard to her. They thought she could be cured there; 
but that if she did not have treatment soon, she would 
be a suffering cripple for life. We wanted to send her 
there, for treatment, but found it impossible to raise 
the means. The child grew worse, and on the 29th 
of December, 1872, she had not left her bed for several 
days, and her sufferings were intense. That Sabbath 
morning we read an article in The Advance^ ' Prayer 
for Healing: AEemarkable Case' [it was the account 
of the healing of Mrs. Miller]. Then came the 
thought. Why cannot we have faith to believe that 
Jesus will cure our child ? Myrie and Orthie, of seven 
and five years, talked together about asking Jesus to 
cure l^ettie. She told one of the children to come to 
her, and I kept on reading, as though I had read 
nothing remarkable ; though I am sure that I knew not 
what I was reading about. I dreaded any conversa- 
tion with the children. At length I could stand it no 
longer, but left the room, and prayed for faith to 
believe that my child could be cured. I then went to 
IvTettie. She asked me if I would pray, and ask Jesus 
to cure her? She thought he would, and the little 
ones expressed the same opinion. My faith was grow- 
ing stronger. I told them that we would read about 
Jesus curing sick folks. I then read aloud all the instan- 
ces of healing recorded in Matthew. We all felt, then, 
that all we had to do was, to ask Jesus to cure her. I 
prayed, and was followed in prayer by J^ettie. We 
asked for her cure that day. After prayer, I discov- 
ered that a change had come over the child. She 



226 PKAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

looked worse than ever before. The thoiia^ht occurred 
to me, that God was going to answer the prayer by 
taking her to himself. At her request, I read to her 
awhile. She then wanted to be helped into the rock- 
ing chair, though she could sit only on one side. I 
helped her up, and, while doing so, such a sense of 
weakness came over me, as I never felt before. I lay 
down on her bed, aud immediately fell into a deep 
sleep. How long I slept, I know not; perhaps half 
an hour; or may be an hour. I was then awakened 
by Nettie telling me she was cured. She would say: 
' O mamma, I am a new girl : Jesus has cured me. 
How I do love Jesus ! ' She was the happiest person 
I ever saw. For the first time in fifteen months she 
was entirely well, and free from pain. She could run, 
jump, stand on one foot; in short, do any of the many 
things a well child could. I then took off the plaster 
which the doctor put on her hip, a few days before, to 
make a sore, and we quit gi^^ng the medicines. That 
night we were a happy family, and it was late before 
the child could compose herself to sleep. On Wednes- 
day following, the doctor came to see her. He could 
find nothing ailing the child. He seemed to think 
Mesmerism, or something of the kind, had been used- 
but after we gave him a plain statement of the case, 
lie said he wished liis daughter, who is an invalid, 
could be cured by prayer, or any other way. "When 
he was ready to go, I brought him the medicines, 
which he took, but said I had better keep the plaster, 
as I might need it. He has been here two or three 



PEAYER FOE PHYSICAL HEALING. 



227 



times since. He always questions her closely. The 
last time he was here, a few days ago, he found her 
with a big apron on, doing work in the kitchen. He 
said: ']-^ettie, does your limb pain you much?' She 
said: ' 'No, sir; it doesn't pain me any at all.' Mr. Con- 
nett was away, at his appointments, when the child was 
restored. She continues well of the disease up to the 
present time." 

About eight months after the cure, the physician 
M. T. Perrine, M. D., gave the following statement in 
writing: 

Caebondale, Sept. 22, 1873. 

The Rev. Mr. Connett's daughter was lame from 
sciatica, fifteen months before I was called to treat her. 
I used the common homoeopathic remedies. They 
heard of the prayer-cure, and resorted to it. She 
seemed to become better, at once. She has continued 
better since — with the exception of a few days, caused 
by slipping down. They now consider her well." 

The author of this book has heard quite Recently of 
the continued health of this little girl, from a friend 
who has visited the family at their present home in 
Indiana, and also from the father, who writes, Oct. 
XI, 1875: Our girl, whose case you published in The 
Advance, still continues well. She is now twelve years 
old, large of her age, and doing most of the work for 
our family of six persons." 

The Healing of a Ministee's Wife. A few months 
subsequent to the case last named, occurred the one 
now to be described. The parties are not personally 



228 PEAYEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 

known to tlie author, who first learned of the facts 
from the statements made in the secular and religious 
papers of the region, but has since met with a care- 
fully prepared account, written after a visit to the 
place and a diligent investigation of the facts, and 
printed in a little pamphlet entitled, " Were they Mir- 
acles P' which can be found at the Willard Tract De- 
pository, Boston, and to which reference can be had 
for more extended details. A condensed account is as 
follows : 

Mrs. Ellen Clark Sherman is the wife of Rev. Moses 
Sherman, who, in August 1873, was in the third year 
of his pastorate of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
of Piermont, E^. II. Mrs. S., when a girl, twice fell and 
badly injured her left knee, so that it became partially 
stiiT, and was pronounced incurable by the physicians. 
Subsequently she strained herself, so as to bring on 
serious female-diseases. Twice she fell down steps or 
staircase, striking her backbone, nearly paralyzing the 
spinal cord and causing serious and permanent spinal 
disease. In September, 1872, she took to her bed, 
where she lay helpless, except when lifted from it, till 
August 27, 1873. She could not walk a step or stand; 
nor could she even sit up a short time, without great 
distress. Medical skill proved unavailing. During 
the last two or three weeks, it required two persons to 
move her. She had come to think that her lot was to 
be a bed-ridden, suffering invalid. At the date just 
named, she was left alone in her room for the night, 
and lay awake revolving various sore trials, and was led 



PEAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALmG. 



229 



to commit tliem by faitli to Jesus, and to feel perfect rest 
of soul. She made a renewed consecration of her all to 
<Tod, surrendering herself completely to do and sufrer 
all God's will, when a delightful consciousness of accep- 
tance came over her. She then felt a special presence 
of Jesus, and what some Vvould call a dream, and oth- 
ers a vision came to her. What followed is given in 
her own words abridged ; which certainly record a 
strange experience : 

"Then 1 became conscious of a movement of the 
Presence, and it seemed to be filling the room more 
and more. From the foot of the bed the Presence 
whispered, 'Believest thou that I am able to do this?' 
This was repeated many times, while I lay there, and 
reasoned the matter all over. The power to yield and 
believe v/as given, and I said: 'Lord, I believe; help 
thou my unbelief?' At once the Presence seemed 
to press up to me over the foot of the bed, and w^his- 
pered to me the words, 'And he breathed on them, 
and said, Receive ye the Holy Ghost;' and they were 
accompanied by a w^arm breathing upon my face. This 
was repeated many times. Each new pulsation of 
the Holy Breath flowed deeper through my body; 
and as it went, all pain ceased. After a little time, 
I was told by a whisper from the Presence, to raise 
my left arm, the worse one, to my head. Before, I 
was not able to raise either without the aid of the 
other; but now I raised this easily and without pain. 
Then I w^as told to raise the other; which 1 did w^ith 
equal ease. Then, to turn over. At once I came over, 



230 PEAYES AND ITS REMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 



like a cork in water. Tlien to ring tlie bell. I did so, 
and mj husband came in, but ]ialf-a\yake, and lighted 
the candle. I said, ' There is a strange influence in the 
room: the Savior is here, at work upon me;' when 
the words were inwardly spoken, with great emphasis, 
' That the people may know that the Son of man hath 
power on earth still to forgive sin, Rise up and walkP 
At once I, who had been bed-ridden, and incapable of 
stepping a stej) for months, threw off the clothes with 
my left arm, sprang out of bed upon my feet, and 
started to walk across the room." 

Eer husband's first thought was that she was 
crazed, and he sprang to help her. But she refused 
his aid, walked back and forth across the room, and 
insisted that J esus had healed her. He called up his 
son of twelve years, and a woman in the house, and 
they rejoiced together from one to three o'clock, when 
all retired. In the morning, her son came in to find 
out whether it was real, or a dream ; when she sat up, 
on the side of the bed, picked up and drew on her 
stockings, which she had not been able to do for more 
than a year, ana lifted the left foot upon the otlier 
knee, and found it wholly restored. From that time 
all her troubles — neuralgic sick-headaches, lack of 
appetite, dyspepsia, costiveness, feminine difiiculties, 
kidney disease, etc. — entirely left her, and she has 
gained steadily in strength to this time. 

A Home aTissioxaet Saved to Laboe. A mission- 
ary in Kansas writes of his personal experience, to 
this efi^ect. He had just begun to preach somewhat, 



PEAYEE FOE PHYSICAL HEALING. 



231 



as a young Cliristian, under the direction of his pastor, 
and in a fit of deep depression was returning from 
what he meant should be his last appointment, when 
he took a severe cold in a storm. In a few days he 
was so low, that the physician pronounced his case 
hopeless, and he put his affairs in order, arranged for 
his funeral, and calmly awaited his end. The pastor 
was aw^ay, at the first, but coming home, called and 
found him speechless, and received answers about his 
spiritual condition only by signs. He then called on 
two church members present to pray, and when they 
had finished, began himself. With the greatest sim- 
plicity he spoke of the Lord's goodness, and of the 
chastening which he had sent, and then turned to the 
world's need of laborers, and quoted Mat. ix : 37, 38, 
from which two years before he had preached a pow- 
erful sermon, wdiich had led several young men to 
devote themselves to the gospel ministry. "And 
now," said he, "Lord, wilt thou ta^ke them away 
again?" And he pleaded as did Jacob, when wrest- 
ling with the angel. Then he quoted the text in 
James, v:14:, 15, as to the prayer of faith healing the 
sick, and cried out, "Lord, I do believe." At that 
moment the young man seemed to hear a voice say- 
ing, " You must preach the gospel," and at once began 
to amend. For nearly forty years he has now been 
obeying that command, and receiving souls for his 
hire. 

Testimony of Chaeles Cullis, M. D. Dr. Cullis is 
widely known among Christians, as the superintend- 



232 PKAYEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

ent of the "Consumptives' Home," in Boston; which 
is wholly supported by voluntary contributions re^ 
ceived in answer to prayer. His success in this 
respect led him to consider whether healing, as well, 
as money, might not be received from the Lord, and a 
perusal of the memoir of Dorothea Trudel convinced 
him, that we ought to expect God to do in America- 
what he was doing in Europe. The results of his expe- 
rience were clearly and frankly given in the " Ninth 
Annual Report of the Consumptives' Home." From 
the many cases described are taken the following, in 
the words of Dr. Cullis : 

"At this time I had under my professional care a 
Christian lady, with a tumor which confined her almost 
continuously to her bed in severe suffering. All 
remedies were unavailing, and the only human hope 
was the knife ; but feeling in my own heart the power 
of the promise, I one morning sat down by her bed- 
side, and taking up the Bible, I read aloud God's 
promise to his believing children: ^ And the prayer 
of faith shall save the sick^ and the Lord shall raise 
him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall 
he forgiven him.^ 

" I then asked her if she would trust the Lord to 
remove this tumor and restore her to health, and to 
her missionary work, She replied, ^ I have no par- 
ticular faith about it, but am willing to trust the Lord 
for it.' 

I then knelt and anointed her with oil in the name 
of the Lord, asking him to fulfill his own word. Soon 



PEAYEE FOE PHYSICAL HEALING. 



233 



after I left, slie got up and walked three miles. From 
that time the tumor rapidly lessened, until all trace 
of it at length disappeared. 

" Some time afterward, this ladj gave testimony in 
a public meeting to the cure wrought in her by the 
prayer of faith, and a sorrowing wife present, whose 
husband was sick with consumption, went home and 
repeated to him the story. At my request he has 
written out the case as follows : 

i , NEAE Boston, March, 1872. 

" was first confined to my house in November, 
1870, with a violent cold. I lost my voice completely, 
suffered with pain in my lungs, and expectorated 
almost constantly. I grew worse every day, and in a 
week called in a physician. On examination he found 
my lungs diseased. I also had fever. With all his 
care my cough grew worse, and night-sweats set in. 
A few weeks later, my wife was told by the doctor that 
my lungs were badly ulcerated, and that, my case 
being hopeless, it was not worth while for him to 
attend longer; also that she must not be surprised if I 
should pass away suddenly. I then tried some highly 
recommended patent medicine, which seemed only to 
increase my disease. 

" ' When I became so weak as to be nearly helpless, 
Dr. CuUis was (?alled in. He sounded my lungs and 
gave the same verdict, saying that my only hope for 
recovery was in the Lord. My wife pleaded in the 
name of Jesus for my restoration; but diarrhoea set 
10-^ 



234 PEAYEE AND ITS SEMAEKAELE AJSSWERS. 

in and my feet began to swell. She, however, con- 
tinued to pray earnestly, urging me to pray for myself. 
I could not do it, as I had no desire in the matter 
apart from the will of God, who had dealt with me so 
graciously in all my siclmess, that I delighted in his 
will. If it w^as alone of his goodness to me that you 
desired me to write, I would not know where to end. 
During the next summer I seemed to gain, but was 
so dependent on my medicine, that a single day's 
omission would aggravate my distress. As autumn 
advanced, I felt that my disease was gaining ground. 

" ' At length my wife heard, at a meeting for Chris- 
tian holiness at the house of Mr. CuUis, Miss D. nar- 
rate her recovery from a tumor by the power of faith. 
Returning home, she repeated it to me. I knew that 
our Father in heaven was no respecter of persons, and 
the more I thought upon it and read the precious 
promises of God, the more I v/as convinced that ' the 
prayer of faith shall save the sick^ and the Lord shall 
raise him u^? Believing that he is faithful that 
promised, I now sent for Dr. Cullis to come and pray 
with me. Dr. and Mrs, Cullis, with my wife, went 
with me into an upper room, where we knelt before 
God. Dr. C. prayed, anointed me with oil, and in 
the name of the Lord Jesus commanded me to be 
healed. Instantly my whole bein^ was thrilled with an 
unknown power, from the top of my head to the soles 
of my feet. From the moment I believed, the work 
was done! My lungs, so long diseased, breathed with 
new vigor, and I returned thanks to God for the 



PEAYEE FOE PnTSICAL HEAIJNG. 



235 



results of faith. Since that memorable night I have 
taken no medicine, and my health has been constantly 
improving, so that I am feeling better now than I did 
before my sickness. To God be all the glory ! ' 

" It is now more than two years since the above inci- 
dent took place. The writer continues perfectly well^ 
and is engaged in active business, walking before the 
Lord in humble, fervent spirit. 

A lady came to me with a cancer in the cheek, which 
had attained the size of a filbert. It had a very red 
and angry appearance. After prayer for her healing, 
she went into the country, when some one remarked: 
'E. thinks that faith will cure her; but that is some- 
thing that will have to be burned or cut out.' Her 
friends tried to induce the use of various applications, 
all of which she firmly refused. She returned home 
in eight weeks, entirely cured. The friends acknowl- 
edge that * faith did do good, once.' 

" A lady of East Cambridge Vv rites : ' For nineteen 
years I have been afiiicted with neuralgia; added to 
this, of late years a combination of diseases has ren- 
dered life an intolerable burden, and baliied the skill 
of every physician to whom I have applied, Ey the 
prayer of faith I have been healed, both body and soul, 
and made to rejoice continually. For the first few 
months, Satan wjis busy with me; and when I gave 
way to doubt, pain again racked my body God has 
strengthened my faith continually. I can now say I 
am entirely well, and engaged in arduous work, often 
among the sick, losing whole nights of rest.' 



236 PEAYEE AND ITS EEMA'EKABLE ANSWEES. 

" It is right to add, that a few instances have occur^ 
red in which I seemed in my own consciousness to 
have the same faith, and yet the healing did not fol- 
low. I offer no theory upon this subject. I simply 
state facts, and leave the rest with God. And yet I 
can conceive wherefore he who alone knows the end 
from the beginning, decides why some should be saved, 
and others left to suffer and to die. It is not always that 
even those who are Christians have used a restoration 
to health or to life, to their own blessing and the glory 
of God." 

The closing paragraph of Dr. Cnllis, deserves atten- 
tion, as showing the limitations of faith in this prayer 
for healing. There are two theories which seem dan- 
gerous, to which allusion was made in the chapter on 
the prayer of faith. One of these teaches, that Vv^e can 
have anything through prayer, by simply belie^dng 
that we shall have it; which would imply that we 
could obtain on that condition the healing of any case 
of disease. This is attended, as was shown, by too 
many absurd implications to be admitted. Prayer cer- 
tainly was never intended to be a universal panacea, 
and to do away with the skill of physicians, any more 
than with nurses, or than with any class of appropriate 
agencies for securing desired results. More plausible 
is the theory that only now and th^ is it the divine 
purpose to grant healing in answer to prayer, and that 
in such case the Holy Spirit not only awakens the 
desire, and inspires the petition, but also creates in the 
soul the positive assurance, or faith, that the blessing 



PEAYEK FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 



237 



will be granted. Some of tlie facts seem to favor this 
idea; but others do not. Thus, confident expectation 
and assertion are often not followed bj the result 
desired. This makes a stumbling-block for the theory ; 
which also acts discouraginglj upon cases where 
prayer is oiFered, and no such specific assurance is 
obtained. And yet these latter prayers are often fol- 
lowed by favorable results. It is better, then, to say 
that the requisite faith is simply that God will secure 
the healing, if it shall be best for all interests, and 
suddenly or gradually, with or without medicines 
and physicians, as he may choose, in each instance. 
Iron rules are of human rather than of divine order- 
ing in these matters. 

Dr. Cullis' Yisit to Mannedoef. In his tenth 
annual report, Dr. Cullis gives an interesting account 
of his visit to the institution which Dorothea Trudel 
founded at Mannedorf, which is now under the charge 
of Mr Zeller, who originally came as a patient. He 
says: " Mr. Zeller had not only been restored, but was 
praying with the sick, God honoring his faith. Doro- 
thea in looking to the Lord for a successor, felt it to 
be his will that Mr. Zeller should be the one, and 
accordingly, after much prayer, made over the entire 
property to him, so that when in the autumn of 1862, 
she fell sick and died, there was no change of hands — ■ 
no trouble or expense — the work going on as hereto- 
fore. Mr. Zeller is thirty-seven years of age. 

" Service is held in the chapel every morning, 
attended by the household, and anj' persons in the vil- 



238 PEATEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 



lage who so desire; also a prayer-meeting every otlier 
evening. Every day at five o'clock, Mr. Zeller meets 
sucli as are able, for praying, and anointing for heal- 
ing. Preaching every Sabbath morning. All these 
services are conducted by Mr. Zeller, who is not an 
ordained clergyman, but called of the Lord for this his 
own work; and his power rests upon him. Persons 
are often cured while listening to his preaching, 
tliough he may not at the time say anything about the 
healing of the body — only of the healing of the soul 
by the blood of Jesus. There is one marked feature 
of the work — tliat not unfrequently the soul is saved 
and then the body cured. ^ ^ ^ ^"ettie Weber was 
a faithful w^orker with Dorothea, and now spends her 
whole time ministering to the sick. Many are healed in 
answer to her prayers, especially among the insane, of 
whom there were thirty at the time of our visit. There 
were about fifty patients in the house, subject to vari- 
ous diseases; among them several paralytics and epi- 
leptics. Many others, who avail themselves of the 
privileges of the house, and take meals there, lodge in 
the village. Anna Barbara Meili was another healed 
in Dorothea's time, when far gone in consumption, 
who remains to devote the life that God has given, to 
his service. 

" We next visited the churchyard, to look upon the 
spot v/here Dorothea was buried. A small iron cross, 
overgrown with ivy, bearing name and dates of birth 
and death, alone distinguislied her lowly resting place. 
Accepting an invitation to dine, we sat down with 



PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 



239 



about one hundred and fifty persons of different nation- 
alities; these all waiting upon the Lord for healing. 
We enjoyed the simple meal, and would lain have lin- 
gered in the home, so hallowed by the Holy Spirit's 
presence. ^ ^ On asking the question, whether 
all were healed, the reply was: 'No; but none die 
until the soul is healed.' " 

A Further Eeport of Cases. This tenth report 
of Dr. Cullis also gives a number of new instances of 
healing during the year. As many suppose these cases 
to be limited to nervous disorders, rheumatism, paral- 
ysis, etc., it may be well to mention, that one of them 
was a person long afflicted with a painful heart-disease, 
and others were cases of consumption. One of these 
latter is thus described by the patient himself, who 
signs his initials as S. B. P.: 

"Boston Highlands, July, 1874. 

"During the winter of 1869, which I spent in 
England, from the effects of a severe cough lasting 
several months, the lower part of my right lung 
became hepatized. About the middle of last March, I 
was taken with congestion of the lungs. Our family 
physician was called; he visited me for nearly three 
weeks, and I have no doubt did all that medical skill 
could do. He succeeded in checking my fever, but I 
grew weaker day by day; a subtle disease was evi- 
dently preying upon my nervous system; I lost my 
appetite, coughed and expectorated a great deal, and 
had night-sweats. My wife became alarmed, and after 
consulting our physician, (who is also my dear friend 



240 PKATEE AND ITS EEMAEK:ABLE*ANSWEES. 



and shared all her anxiety,) called as counsel Dr. 
Charles Ciillis. The doctors examined my case very 
carefully, and found I had no use of my right lung; 
they gave very little if any encouragement. From 
that time I grew rapidly worse; my disease, as the 
doctors feared, was evidently tending to the brain. 
The second night after the consultation I was sleep- 
less a.nd quite delirious; in the morning I was so wild 
that my family could not control me. Both doctors 
were called, and as they came into my room I cried 
out in my delirium, ' I want none of jour medicine, 
only your prayers.' I felt a consciousness that deliv- 
erance had come; I threw my arms around Dr. Cullis 
and wept like a child. The doctor knelt with me by 
my bed, offered a short praj^er for my recovery, 
anointing me with oil in the name of the Lord. My 
nerves immediately became quiet; I lay down and 
remained in a semi-conscious state for about two 
hours. From my appearance my wife feared that I 
was dying, but the doctor assured her that that was 
not the case; that he felt confident the Lord would 
raise me up. Soon after the doctors left, in spite of 
the remonstrance of my wife, I got up, dressed, and 
went below, and for some ten hours I was in an 
almost constant struggle, trying, as I told my friends, 
to get myself into the hands of the Lord. At last I 
said to those around me: 'In a few minutes I shall go 
to sleep ; as soon as I am asleep you can put me where 
you please, I shall sleep two or three hours.' In a 
few minutes I fell asleep; they lifted me from the 



PEAYEK FOE PHYSICAL HEALING. 241 

floor, where I had persisted in lying for several hoars, 
and laid me on a sofa. I slept quietly for about two 
hours; when I awoke, I felt a wonderful sense of relief. 
I had during my illness felt sick from the crown of 
my head to the soles of my feet; that feeling was all 
gone. I went to bed, and for the first time since I 
was taken ill, I slept quietly nearly all night; I slept 
a good part of the next day, like a weary man. 1 took 
no more medicine^ but from the hour I went to sleep 
I commenced improving, which has continued until I 
feel as well as ever, except that I have not the full use 
of my hepatized lung, but I breathe the whole length 
of it, including that part which I had not used since 
1869. My breathing is improving constantly, and I 
have no doubt it will recover entirely. 

" For all tliis I give God the glory. It is said to 
me by those to whom I relate this experience, 'It is 
wonderful.' I say to tliem, 'Yes, it is wonderful; but 
not that God fulfills his promises; it is wonderful that 
his children should doubt his word.' It is certainly 
wonderful that Christians should read the fourteentli 
and fifteenth verses of the fifth of James, and think 
it means nothing now — it is not for them. I have a 
friend who has a daughter who came home from the 
"West last May, apparently in consumption; she had a 
bad cough, expectorated a great deal, and had profuse 
niglit-sweats. She arrived in Boston on Thursday of 
the week; on the following Monday slie had a stroke 
of paralysis, completely paralyzing her left side. The 
doctor gave no hope, said she could not live; I advised 
11 



242 



PEAYEK AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 



tliem to call Dr. CuUis and have liim pray for lier. 
He consented to do so, if they would abandon the use 
of medicine and simply trust her case in the hands 
of the Lord; to this they assented, and Dr. Cullis 
prayed for her. To-day she is free from cough, night- 
sweats, and all other signs or symptoms of consump- 
tion, and has been for nearly two months. Her para- 
lysis is so far removed that she walks about the 
lionse." 

We may not climb tlie heavenly steeps, 

To bring the Lord Christ down; 
In vain we search the lowest deepsf 

For him no depths can drown. 

But warm, sweet, tender, even yet 

A present help is he; 
And faith has still its Olivet, 

And love its -Galilee. 

The healing of the seamless dress 

Is by our beds of pain; 
We touch him in life's throng and press. 

And we are whole again. 

—John Gt. WMttier. 



CHAPTEE XIII. 



P BAYER FOR PBTSIGAL HEALim. 
{Concluded.) 

Luther and Melanchthon. The prayer of Luther 
for the recovery of Melanchthon, who lay apparently at 
the point of death, is well known to every student of the 
history of the Reformation. Melanchthon's learning 
and facile pen were invaluable to the cause, while his 
milder manner avoided the offense often given by 
Luther's impetuosity and occasional coarseness. Hence, 
when Luther was summoned to the death- bed of his 
dearly loved friend, he burst into tears aiid an excla- 
mation of agony. This roused Melanchthon, who said : 
" O Luther, is this you? Why don't you let me depart 
in peace?" "We can't spare you yet, Philip," was 
the Reformer's answer; and then he spent more than 
an hour on his knees, pleading for his recovery, until 
he felt that the prayer was heard. . Then he turned to 
Melanchthon, again, whom he took by the hand, and 
who said : " Dear Luther, why don't you let me depart 
in peace? " and received as an answer: " No, no, Philip, 
we cannot spare you yet from the field of labor." 
Luther had some soup brought, and when his friend 
declined it, saying, " Dear Luther, why will you not 
let me go home?" again replied: "We cannot spare 

(243) 



244: PRAYEE AND ITS EEMARE:ABLE ANSWERS. 

yon yet, Philip," and added, in his droll way: " Philip, 
take this soup, or I will excommnnicate yon." The 
sonp was taken, Melanchthon began to revive, and he 
lived to labor for many years. "When Luther went 
home, he told his wife with triumphant joy: "God 
gave me my brother Melanchthon back, in direct answer 
to prayer." And can anyone doubt this, who considers 
the promises of God, and the peculiar circumstances 
of the case? 

The Healing of Rev. S. H. Platt. Eev. S. H. 
Piatt is at present stationed in the De Kalb Avenue 
Methodist Episcopal Church, Brooklyn, Is. Y. He 
has been lame, and a great sufferer in one knee, for 
twenty-five years, and in both for three years, and has 
never been able to preach standing until since his 
recent cure. For many years he has been a believer 
in the gift of healing in special cases, but could not see 
any reason to think that it was God's will to heal him; 
especially as in 1872, he visited Dr. Cullis, at Boston, 
without gaining permanent relief. 

In the summer of 1875, he went to Ocean Grove, 
for a vacation, and took with him a collection of nar- 
ratives of faith-cures, which he carefully read, and by 
which he was much impressed. Sunday, July 25th, 
two ladies called at his cottage, one of whom w^as a 
Miss Mossman, who claimed that the Lord had sent her 
to tell him that he might be cured of his lameness, if 
he would only believe. He mentioned his experience 
with Dr. Cullis; and she said his faith had subsequently 
failed, and she related to him a marvelous cure of a 



PEATER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 



245 



broken ankle at Syracuse, E". Y., by the simple prayer, 
repeated several times, ''Please, Lord, heal my foot." 
She stated that hearing of his case, she felt divinely 
impressed to go to him with the message mentioned, 
as she had snccessfnlly gone to several others. Says 
Mr. Piatt: Kneeling, she rested one hand npon each 
knee, just as she would upon a chair, with no pressure 
and no motion of any kind, and in a short prayer, of 
not even two minutes, she asked for ' the healing of 
these knees.' ^ ^ * I was conscious of no change 
whatever, either mental, spiritual or physical, until 
about a minute after she had resumed her seat; when 
a sensation, unlike anything ever before or since expe- 
rienced by me, began about four inches below each 
knee, and slowly swept upward with a sort of envelop- 
ing, condensing and toning np feeling, seeming to 
permeate every fibre of tissue about the joints, and 
then faded out at about the same distance above the 
knees. I mentioned this sensation: 'Oh yes, you are 
cured ' was her confident reply ; ' only hold on and 
don't lose it. ^ When pain comes, trust in 
Jesus. Ask Grod to put power into your knees when- 
ever you want to go anywhere, but don't go anywhere, 
unless he wants you to; and if he wants you to, you 
can walk any distance.' " 

Since that time, Mr. Piatt has walked without his 
canes, has preached standing, and has gradually been 
delivered from pain. Miss Mary H. Mossman is the 
daughter of a Congregational Deacon in Massachusetts, 
who for sixteen years has been leading a life of faith 



246 PEAYEK AND ITS EEMARKABLE ANSWEES. 



in Christ and the leadings of the Holy Spirit, and is of 
slight build and feeble health. Her prayers avail only 
in cases in which she is specially impressed by the 
Spirit to pray for the recovery of the person. Mr. 
Piatt had previously tried medical and surgical 
remedies in vain ; as also electricity and magnetism, 
without any permanent benefit. He has published the 
full particulars of his case in a pamphlet. 

Statement by Eey. Hoeace Bushnell, D. D. In 
his valuable book, entitled " l^ature and The Super- 
natural," Dr. Bushnell makes known some very inter- 
esting facts as follows: 

" I became acquainted, about two years ago, in a 
distant part of the world, with an English gentleman, 
whose faith in the gift of healing had been established 
by his own personal exercise of it. He gave me a full 
account in manuscript of some of the cases. ^ ^ 
It became a question with him, soon after his conver- 
sion, whether, as he had been healed spiritually, he 
ought not also to expect and receive the healing of his 
body by the same faith; for he had then been an in- 
valid for a long time, with only a slender hope of re- 
covery. After a hard struggle of mind, he was able, 
dismissing all his prescribed remedies, to throw him- 
self on God, and was immediately and permanently 
made whole. At length, one of his children, whom 
he had with him away from home, was taken ill with 
scarlet fever, and ' now the question was' — I give his 
own words — 'what was to be done? The Lord had 
indeed healed my own sickness, but would he heal my 



PRAYER FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 247 



son? I conferred with a brother in the Lord, who, 
having no faith in Christ's healing power, nrged me 
to send instantly for the doctor, and dispatched his 
groom on horseback to fetch him. Before the doctor 
arrived, my mind was filled with revelation on the 
subject. I saw that I had fallen into a snare, by turn- 
ing away from the Lord's healing hand, to lean on 
medical skill. I felt grievously condemned in my con- 
science. A fear also fell on me, that if I persevered in 
this unbelieving course, my son would die, as his eldest 
brother had. The symptoms in both were precisely 
similar. The doctor arrived. My son, he said, was 
suffering from a scarlet fever, and medicine should be 
sent immediately. While he stood prescribing, I re- 
solved to withdraw the child, and cast him on the 
Lord. And when he was gone, I called the nurse, 
and told her to take the child, and lay him on the bed. 
I then fell on my knees, confessing the sin I had com- 
mitted against the Lord's healing power. I also 
prayed most fervently that it would please my Heav- 
enly Father to forgive my sin, and to show that he 
forgave it, by causing the fever to be rebuked. I re- 
ceived a mighty conviction that my prayer was heard, 
and I aroBe, and went to the nursery, at the end of a 
long passage, to see what the Lord had done; and on 
opening tlie door, to my astonishment, the boy was 
sitting up in his bed ; and on seeing me, cried out, ' I 
am quite well, and want to have my dinner.' In an 
hour he was dressed, and well, and eating his dinner, 
and when the physic arrived, it was cast out of the 



248 PEATEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 

window. E"ext morning, the doctor returned; and, ob 
meeting me at the garden gate, he said, ' I hope jour 
son is no worse.' 'He is very well, I thank you,' said 1 
in reply. 'What can you mean?' rejoined the doctor. 
'I will tell you; come in and sit down.' I then told 
liim all that had occurred, at which he fairly gasped 
witli surprise. ' May I see your son? ' he asked. ' Cer- 
tainly, doctor, but I see that you do not believe.' We 
proceeded up stairs, and my son was playing with his 
brother on the floor. The doctor felt his pulse and 
said, 'Yes, the fever is gone.' Finding also a fine 
healthy surface on his tongue, he added, ' Yes, he is 
quite well; I suppose it was the crisis of his disease.' " 
"Another of the cases w^hich he reports shows more 
fully the working of his own mind, on the instant of 
healing. It was the case of a poor man's child, who 
had heard him advocate the faith of healing, and now 
that the physician, after attending him for many 
months of illness, had given the little patient up, say- 
ing that he could do no more, the parents sent for him, 
in their extremity, to come and heal their son. He 
replied to the father: 'My dear friend, I cannot heal 
your son; I can do nothing to help him. All that I 
can do is, to ask you to kneel down, and pray with 
me to Christ, that we may know what is his will in 
this m'atter.' ' He immediately knelt down with me,' 
the written account continues, ' and my prayer was 
a reminding of the Lord Jesus Christ of his mercy to 
the sick, when he was on tlie earth, and that he never 
sent any sick away unhealed. I then presented the 



PRAYER FOE PHYSICAL HEALING. 



249 



petition of tlie father and mother, that their son might 
be healed, and besonght the Lord to show what his 
will was in the case. Whilst I was making the sup- 
plication, it was revealed to me, through the Holy 
Spirit, that I was to lay hands on the boy ; and receiv- 
ing at the time great faith to do so, I arose, and not 
wishing to be observed by the father, I laid my hand 
on the boy's head, and said in a low tone of voice — 
' I lay my hand on thee in the name of Jesus Christ.' 
In an instant, I saw color rush into his pale cheeks, 
and it seemed as if a glow of health was given, inso- 
much that I said involuntarily, ' I think your son 
will recover.' I then hastily left the room. In less 
than an hour, the mother came to my house, and in- 
sisted on seeing me, to tell me the wonderful things 
that had happened to her son. The result was, that 
the boy w^as about, the next day.' " 

The other cases narrated by him are scarcely less re- 
markable. At the same time, he admits, with charac- 
teristic ingenuousness, that no such gift has been 
vouchsafed him now for a number of years, and that 
most of the expectations he had, in connection with 
the apostolic wonder thus restored, have been disap- 
pointed. 

Insanity Cured. A recent event has kindly been 
communicated by Eev. S. J. Humphrey. A physician 
of his acquaintance, of devoted piety and great faith in 
prayer, needed seven thousand dollars, that he might 
add a new building to his medical establishment. 
Just then a banker brought his insane wife, whose case 



260 PEAYEE AND ITS KEMAEKABLE ANSV/EES. 

was considered incurable, and said to liini, " Cui'e lier, 
and I will loan you tlie money!" The doctor called 
in as witnesses some others who believed with him in 
the power of prayer, and had the proposition repeated 
in their presence. For some days earnest prayer was 
offered by them all, while the doctor used sucli reme- 
dial means as seemed to him wise. In less than a 
week, she returned to her husband in sound mind, and 
the promise was redeemed. 

Anothee Instance. President Wm. M. Brooks of 
Tabor College, Iowa, communicates an instance of re- 
covery from insanity, in answer to prayer, which is 
as Ibllows; the names being suppressed: A young 
lady of his acquaintance, of a finished education, lost 
her reason in the winter of 1871-2, and in August, 
1872, was placed in the institution for the insane, at 
Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. No encouragement was given of 
her recovery, and a year later, when her fatlier visited 
her, in June, 1873, she appeared so badly, that he said 
it would be a relief to know that she was dead. Soon 
after, Mrs. H. the wife of a Baptist minister, who had 
long known and loved her, being shut up for days in 
a dark room, because of inflamed eyes, felt dra^Ti out 
in special prayer in her behalf, and finally sent for the 
father and told him of her exercises and of the assur- 
ance gained that his daughter would be fully restored. 
In a few days, came news of a sudden change for the 
better, and in a little over two months she returned 
home well, and is now teaching, with all her powers 
in full vigor. The acting Superintendent of the Hos- 



PEAYEK FOE PHYSICAL HEALING. 251 



pital, wlio is not a professed Cliristian, and who knew 
nothing of the prayers referred to, said that when the 
change occurred, there was not a case among the live 
hundred inmates of which he had less hope, and that 
it was the most remarkable case of recovery which he 
had known during the eight years of his connection 
with the Hospital. 

A Young Lady Healed in Pennsylvania. The 
author has received, from the subject of the healing 
described, the following letter, which will be read with 
great interest by those who are studying the phenomena 
of prayer in its relation to physical cure. Its writer 
so expresses her own view as to give one a clear con- 
ception of the psychological conditions of her recovery: 
Haeeisbueg, Pa., Sept. 9, 1875. 

Rev. Wm. W. Patton: More than three years since, 
when fourteen years old, I received an injury, the 
result of which was miletus, or inflammation of the 
sheath surrounding the spinal cord ; the suffering 
from which was heightened by a complication of 
diseases of a chronic nature. Although never well, I 
had repeated attacks, during which I was obliged to 
lie in a horizontal position for many months at a time. 
I had two very kind physicians; but the aid afforded 
me was only temporary, I never getting free, even for 
the shortest space of time, from pain in the region of 
the spine. The pain was severe ; yet precious was my 
Savior's promise: My grace is sufficient for thee." 

Although having the witness of my acceptance with 
Ood, in the light of justification, I found there were 



252 PEAYEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

remains of the carnal mind in the heart. Knowing 
there is efficacy in the blood of Jesus Christ, to cleanse 
from every stain, and thus seeing my duty, accordingly 
on Dec. 15, 1873, I asked the Lord for a pure heart, 
and was led to see the necessity of entire consecration 
to God. I found my consecration to God incomplete, 
in that I was not giving the body so as he would 
receive it. I fouiid that to consecrate the body, I 
must give it to be healed in a way the Lord would 
reveal. -y: ^ ^ ^ ^ 

After considering and reconsidering the subject for 
fully thirteen months, knowing "that God declares, 
''With Christ, I freely give you all things;" "He 
beareth our sickness, and healeth our diseases;" ''The 
prayer of faith shall save the sick; " ''AH things are 
possible to him that belie veth,'' I saw it would honor 
God more, to exercise faith and live; as I had the 
assurance of an instantaneous healing, as I believed. 
On Tuesday, January 26, 1875, at 7i p. m., I realized 
my Savior's words: "Daughter, thy faith hath made 
thee whole." Taking 7ioiu as the accepted time, I said: 

Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief; " the utter- 
ance of the lips corresponding with the desire of the 
heart. " Ask what ye will in my name, and I will do 
it," was suggested. My reply was: "To be wholly 
the Lord's — in a word, to enjoy a pure heart, and to 
be well physically." I was enabled to rise, walk, and 
show the truly great thing, the Lord had done for me. 
I have not taken medicine since the day previous, or 
been abed [confined to the bed] since the moment of 



PEAYEK FOK PHYSICAL HEALING. 



253 



healing. ^ ^ ^ Yv^onderful art Thou, in all thy 
works, and that my soul knoweth right well! Unto 
him be glory and praise evermore. 

Yours, with respect, Minnie H. Walters. 

Bishop Simpson's Life Saved. Bishop Bowman, of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, gives this account 
(which has been published in the papers) of the unex- 
pected recovery of Bishop Simpson at a time when he 
was supposed to be dying: 

" I remember once, when there was a Conference at 
Mt. Yernon, in this State (Ohio), at which I was 
present. Bishop Janes was presiding, one afternoon, 
and, after reading a dispatch stating that Bishop 
Simpson was dying in Pittsburg, asked that the Con- 
ference unite in prayer, that his life might be saved. 
We knelt down, and Mr. Taylor, the great street- 
preacher of California, led in one .of his beautiful 
prayers. After the first few sentences, in which I 
joined with my whole heart, my mind seemed to be at 
ease, and I did not pay much attention to the rest of 
the prayer, only to notice its beauty. When we arose 
from our knees, I turned to a brother and said : 
* Bishop Simpson will not die; I feel it.' I then told 
him how the feeling had come over me, and he assured 
me that he had experienced the same impressions. 
The word was passed around, and over thirty ministers, 
who were present, said they had the same feeling, I 
took my book, and made a note of the hour and cir- 
cumstance. Several months afterwards, I met Bishop 
Simpson, and asked him what he did, to recover his 



254 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

health. He did not know; bnt the physician had said, 
it was a miracle. He said that, one afternoon, when at 
the point of death, the doctor left him, saying he 
should be left alone [by the doctor] for a half hour. 
At the end of that time, the doctor returned, and im- 
mediately noticed a great change in the patient. He 
was startled, and asked the family what they had done 
for the Bishop; and they replied: Nothing at all. 
That half ho^r, I found, by making allowance for 
difference of localities, was just the time when we 
were praying for him at Mt. Yernon. From that 
time on, he steadily improved, and has lived to bless 
the church and humanity. If the Lord could touch 
vitality in one direction, he could in another. Bishop 
Simpson's case, and ten thousand others are living 
examples of that to-day. God does answer prayer for 
physical good, I know he does. On the God, who has 
so often answered my prayers, I will still rely, scientific 
men and philosophers to the contrary notwithstanding.'' 

A Deafness of Twenty Years Cured. Eev. Frank- 
lin Fisk, who has been forty years in the Methodist 
ministry, and now resides in Wilbraham, Mass., says, 
in a letter to his friend, Mrs. (Eev.) David Sherman, 
D. D., of Maiden, Mass., the original of which lies 
before the author, bearing date August 30, 1875: 

" I find in my diary, under date of April 17, 18 37, 
that I called on 'Father Harding,' in the town of 
Wellfleet, Mass. He was a venerable octogenarian, 
had long been a member of the Methodist church, 
and was highly esteemed by all who knew him, as a 



PEAYEE FOE PHYSICAL HEALING. 255 

man of great purity of character. He told me, that 
when past forty years of age, he was deaf; so that he 
could hear no human voice. He had been in this 
condition twenty years. One morning, while contem- 
plating tlie miracles of Christ — his restoring sight to 
the blind, hearing to the deaf, etc. — that he is ^the 
same yesterday, to-day and forever,' and the promise 
that he will ' withhold no good thing from them that 
walk uprightly,' he was impressed with a strong con- 
viction that, if he should ask for it, his hearing would 
be restored. He said he immediately began to pray, 
and continued with increasing earnestness and faith 
all the forenoon. Soon after noon, he began to realize 
a strange rumbling in his ears, which continued until 
evening; which so wearied and worried him, that he 
retired earlier than usual, and immediately went to 
sleep. In the night time he awoke, hearing the wind 
blow violently, as he thought. He awoke his wife, 
and asked her if she ever knew the wind to blow so 
hard before. She was surprised at his idea, and 
assured him there was no unusual gale. He again 
went to sleep, and did not awake till the sun had 
arisen, and was shining into his room. He said it 
seemed to have a charm and a glory in it, as did all 
other objects, such as he had never known before. He 
arose and dressed himself, and, going out at his front 
door, ascended a wooded hill directly opposite his 
house. He heard the birds sing, and leaves rustle as 
they were moved by the gentle breeze. He said he 
came down, and, entering the house, told his folks he 



256 PEAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

conld hear now as well as any of them. And he 
added: 'I have continued to hear to the present time, 
a period of more than fortj^ years.' " 

Miss Lucy Tv. Drake's Account. The reader has 
already learned of Miss Drake's faith and its reward, 
in reference to the supply of ordinary wants. In the 
narrative of Dr. Cullis, reference was made to a Miss 
D., who was healed of a tumor, in answer to prayer. 
This was Miss Drake, and she has now written out for 
this volume her experience of cure from consumption, 
in like manner, as follows: 

^' In 1866, 1 was in consumjotion, and the disease had 
made such progress, during the years I had been 
afflicted with it, that in the judgment of a skillful 
physician, I was not expected to live through the 
summer. Of a decidedly consumptive family, and 
having all the symptoms of the disease in an advanced 
stage, humanly speaking, I could not have a ray of 
hope. But for several years I had left my body wdtb 
its disease in the hand of the Lord, and consequently 
was without any anxiety about it; having asked that, 
if he saw it would be for his glory to spare me, he 
would raise me to health; and if not, he would take 
me to ' behold his glory.' One evening in July, (the 
5tli,) while reading one of the promises given to an 
ancient patriarch, my soul was exceedingly stirred 
with its richness, and, as it met the longing desire of 
my heart — to win souls to Christ — I inquired of the 
Lord, and studied his revealed will, to know if it was 
his pleasure to give that promise to me. By faith in 



PEAYEE FOE PHYSICAL HEALING. 



257 



the promise to give wisdom (James i:5,) liaving 
asked, I was tliorouglily persuaded that it was mine. 
It related to future usefuhiess, and in a few minutes 
it occurred to me that if it was fulfilled, I must be 
cured of my disease. I had been, and was then so 
weak, I could not sit up fifteen minutes at a time, 
without keen sufiering. I said at once, ' Of course I 
must; but the Lord knew that when he gave me that 
promise; and consumption is as easy for him to cure, 
as to sway yonder branches with his winds.' 

" From that moment not a doubt entered my mind 
about my recovery; for God had promised it, included 
in that spiritual promise. I do not remember about 
that evening; for it was quite late, but the next day 
great strength was given me, and I did work that 
would have affected me seriously, for months follow- 
ing, if I had performed it at any time within months 
previous. I gained constantly. My physicians and 
friends were astonished, and only found refuge in say- 
ing, ' She will be sick again soon.' But sickness did 
not return, and my lungs gradually healed, and, in a 
short time, I became engaged in preaching to the mul- 
titude the glad tidings of the gospel; and I have con- 
tinued this work since that time. I mention this to 
show, that the voice required in this public work, could 
only be forthcoming when the lungs were in a normal 
condition. 

"There have been several other times, when, having 
other diseases, recovery was considered doubtful, that 
after exercising faith in Christ for healing, I have 
11^- 



258 PEAYEK ANB ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 

been cured; several times immediately^ and at others 
gradually. I mention tliis to sliow that it is our priv- 
ilege not only to take Christ as our physician, once in 
a lifetime, but whenever we need him ; as we may con- 
tinually live by faith in him, to be kept from the 
power of sin." 

The last paragraph surely cannot mean that no 
Christian need die, but may always be healed of every 
sickness; but only that oftentimes God is pleased to 
cure more than once. 

Testimoist of Mrs. C. S. Whitney. This lady, who 
resides in Hartford, Ct., where she is extensively 
known by her Cliristian labors among the poor, kindly 
furnishes the author the following statement of her 
personal experience: 

"Three years ago, I was healed of a bodily disease. 
I had been troubled from my birth with canker, and 
at times suffered greatly. I had consulted some of 
the best physicians in the land, and had been treated 
by the most skillful. My case was said to be incura- 
ble. When I learned to trust Christ for everything, 
I applied to him for healing. My husband joined 
with me, in this prayer, for three weeks; but all the 
time I was growing worse. I then prayed for entire 
submission. About the first of October, 1872, my 
stomach, throat and mouth were so cankered, I could 
scarcely eat anything. One day, I took np the little 
book, entitled ' Dorothea Trudell ' ; and while reading, 
I seemed to hear a voice saying unto me, ' All things 
possible unto him that believeth.' ' According to 



PSAYEE FOE PHYSICAL HEALING. 



259 



thy faitli be it unto thee.' I claimed the faith, 
and immediately asked God to heal me, and in his own 
way. While yet on my knees, it seemed very clear to 
me, that I should go to Boston, and ask Dr. CuUis to 
pray with me. I obeyed that leading, and made prepa- 
ration to go, the day following. Just as I was ready 
to start for the depot, I realized that I was cured. An 
entire change was wrought in my system, and my soul 
was filled with joy and gratitude. Soon I began to 
wonder why I had been thus strangely led, and the 
dear Lord made it all plain by directing my attention 
to the story of Abraham, teaching me the beautiful 
lesson of obedience, and again assured me by the voice 
of his Spirit, saying, ' Thy faith hath saved thee.' " 

Two Cases of Childeen. It may be well to cite 
two cases in which the patients were, by age and phy- 
sical condition, unable to take any part in the process 
of recovery, in the way of an exercise of imagination 
or faith, which often has great nervous influence-. 
Rev. T. W. Greene, a Baptist minister at Denver, Col., 
furnishes the following from his own experience: 

" While I was pastor of the Baptist church at L , 

in Central Illinois, in the year 1868, I learned, one 
day, that a family belonging to my congregation, and 
living some two miles in the country, was in deep dis- 
tress, because of the momentarily expected death of 
their little child. Making no delay, I hastened to the 
house. It was very hot weather, and the child was 
suifering from a low fever. The opposite doors of the 
room were standing open, to furnish a current of air; 



260 PEAYEE AND ITS EEMAEEA.BLE ANSWEES. 

but the little patient liad sunk to a condition in which 
he did not seem to breathe at all. The doctor had 
given the child up to die, and gone away. The father 
had left the room, being unwilling to witness the 
death. The mother and nurse were the only attend- 
ants at the bedside; though I believe a neighbor was 
sitting in the opposite corner of the room. The child 
showed no signs of life, that an ordinarj^ observer could 
detect. It had no perceptible pulse, and made no cry 
or movement of any kind. Its eyes were fixed. But 
I at once felt, that I could pray in faith for its recov- 
ery. I knelt down by the bedside, prayed with much 
composure, and went back, feeling that my prayer 
would be answered. I was not surprised to hear, in a 
day or two, that the child was rapidly recovering ; and 
soon after that it was running about the house. 

" In the same place and year, I visited another fam- 
ily, under very similar circumstances. The child, in 
this instance, had been sick for some time with a vio- 
lent form of dysentery, if I remember correctly. The 
doctor in attendance was an avowed infidel — a disbe- 
liever in the inspiration of the Scriptures, in the sin- 
lessness of Christ, in the influence of the Holy Spirit 
on the heart, and, indeed, in his existence altogether. 
All the while I was in the room, he sat on the side of 
the bed, holding the child's wrist. In reply to my 
inquiry. How is the child? he gave me to understand 
that he had no hope of its recovery. The parents and 
friends had also evidently given up hope. They were 
waiting, in tears and silence, to see it die. I asked the 



peAyee foe physical healing. 



261 



Lord, in my prayer, to spare tlie cliild, not forgetting 
to mention the condition — always to be remembered, 
in praying for temporal blessings — if it was in accord- 
ance with his will. The Holy Spirit, we know, he 
is always ready to bestow on those that ask him — • 
more w^illing than earthly parents are to give good 
gifts nnto their children. The prayer was answered 
by the speedy restoration of the child to comparative 
health : though it took a relapse after a month or so, 
and died. The doctor said to a number, thongh not 
to me, that he could never again deny the reality of 
prayer, for that, during my prayer, he felt the pulse 
quicken and grow stronger, all the time. He men- 
tioned it himself, as a case altogether remarkable in 
his estimation. A third case, so similar that it would 
have no interest, occurred while I was pastor, some 

time before, at W , in Illinois." 

A Fkeedman Cueed of Consumption. Miss Rachel 
C. Mather, who has charge of a Colored Orphan 
Asylum, at Beaufort, S. C, sends to the author, under 
date of Oct. 20, 1875, an account which, somewhat 
condensed, is as follov/s : " I's come, missus, to say 
good bye, afore you go l^orf ; ' spec I'll neber see you 
agin, in dis yere world; de doctor's given me up; he 
can do no more," said l^oble Mitchell, a freedman, to 
me, on my piazza, one June morning, panting for 
breath and having every appearance of a man in the 
last stages of consumption. " I's jes' waiting for de 
Lord to call me home; I's ready to go; I wants de 
Lord's will to be done." " So do I," I replied ; " but I 



262 PEAYEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 



believe it is his will that you should live and labor. 
Your wife and six little children need jou; all your 
neighbors need you, to repair their rickety cabins, in 
cold weather ; I need yon to build another school house." 
" It will be a miracle, missus; my cough tears me, day 
and night; my appetite has lef ' me; de night-sweats 
worry me a heap; when I tries to walk, I staggers." 
" Faith is a miracle- worker. Did not Jesus say, ' Thy 
faith hath saved thee'? 'AH things are possible to 
him that believeth.' I then read him the account of 
Hezekiah's recovery, how Jesus healed the sick, and a 
few pages from Dorothea Trudel, to which he eagerly 
listened. After prayer, he left, saying: I's got new 
light. I's got new joy in my heart. I's better already. 
I'll pray de Lord to cure me, an' I hopes he will.' '' 

One month later, while in Boston, Miss Hildare, 
who took charge in my absence, wrote: "Noble 
Mitchell is well, and passes by here every day, to work 
in Beaufort — it is wonderful." And so it was; for he 
had not worked at his trade for five months, and his 
friends had for sometime looked to see him sink into 
his grave. He has been at work ever since, and the 
last six months for me, putting up a new school house. 
He is a faithful man, a useful neighbor, and an exem- 
plary christian. 

A GiEL CuEED. Miss Mather sends an account of 
a girl, Laura, thirteen years old, who came to her with 
a hard cough and a pain in her side and steadily grew 
worse. Her appetite failed, night-sweats came on, and 
she was confined to the bed most of the day. At last 



PRAYEK FOE PHYSICAL HEALIJSra. 



263 



tlie end seemed near, and Miss M. says: I lingered 
by her bed till near midnight, in prayer for her 
recovery. I could not give her up. Again, in my 
own room, I poured out my soul in prayer for the 
child, and then slept. About two o'clock I suddenly 
awoke, and seemed to hear a voice saying: ' Go to 
Laura; I can heal her now; the conditions are right; 
you are both calm and trustful.' 'Well, Laura,' I 
went and said, ' Jesus has told me to tell you that he 
will cure you now. Do you believe he will ? ' ' Yes, 
missus, me do believe. O, Jesus, do, please make me 
w^ell; let me live a long time and be a good and useful 
woman.' The burden rolled off my heart. From 
that night, Laura rapidly recovered; in less than a 
month she was strong and well. During 'four years 
since, she has been a good, useful girl." 

A Case in New Yoek City. Eev. Edwin F. Hat- 
field, D. D., who is v/idely known throughout the 
Presbyterian Church, has kindly obtained and for- 
warded, at the request of the author, the following 
letter from Mrs. K., the mother of the young girl re- 
ferred to below, who resides in Brooklyn, N. Y.: 

'^Dear Sir: I have a daughter who was for fourteen 
months, afflicted with hip disease. It was brought on 
by a fall and a consequent dislocation, when she was 
eight years of age. Her right side was paralyzed, and 
she had an abscess. I placed her in a hospital, under 
the care of good nurses and the very best medical 
advice. Everything possible was done for her, but all 
to no avail ; she grew worse instead of better, and the 



264 PKATEE AND ITS EEMATtKABLE ANSWERS. 

doctors directed me, as tliere was no hope for lier, to 
take her home to die. 

" But I did not cease to hope. I did as the doctors 
directed, but continued to pray the prayer of faith 
for her recovery, for two weeks. • One morning, at the 
end of this period, we were conversing together about 
the wonderful cures wrought by the Savior, when on 
eartli, and particularly that of the man at the pool of 
Bethesda. In tlie midst of our conversation, my 
daughter rose to obtain a drink of water, when she 
exclaimed, ' Mother, 1 can Vv^alk ! ' ' Thanks be to 
God!' said I; 'come, and let me see you.' Her 
crutches, the only means by which she could move 
ebout, before, were now useless. Upon examination, 
I found th?tt the abscess had entirely disappeared, and 
that the paralyzed limb was restored whole, like the 
other. She was again dangerously ill, five months 
afterwards. I prayed for her recovery, one night, 
before retiring, and the next morning she arose, per- 
fectly cured. Slie is now twenty-one years of age, and 
during all this intervening time, has been free from 
any trouble of this kind. To-day she is as well as any 
one, walking and running about without the slightest 
trouble." 

Cure of Bright's Disease and Paralysis. The 
author has received a letter from Mr. James H. Black- 
man, of Sharon, Mass., (P. O. address at Canton, Mass.,) 
which is of extraordinary interest. Some of the facts 
have been given before, but never so fully as now. 



PEATEE FOE PHYSICAL HEALING. 265 



Slightly abridged, it is as follows; under date of Oct. 
23, 1875: 

"In the spring of 1870, my wife was taken sick 
with tlie kidney complaint. She continued to grow 
worse during the summer. I took a bottle of urine 
to Dr. Erasmus D. Miller, a celebrated physician of 
Boston, to be tested. He sent me a note saying: 'Her 
disease is Bright's disease of the kidneys, in a far 
advanced stage, and incurable.' The water was after- 
wards tested by several physicians, who coincided 
with Dr. Miller. An increase of albumen was appa- 
rent at every test, and the last, (a 2-oz. bottle,) tested 
by Dr. A. A. Holmes, of Canton, contained nothing 
but albumen. The water gradually decreased in 
quantity, and finally stopped altogether, and for two 
years nothing passed. It is well known that physi- 
cians do not profess to cure this disease. During my 
wife's illness, her left limb became completely paral- 
yzed, and withered away to the size of a man's wrist, 
in the largest place, and without any feeling, even to 
pins and boiling water. She tipped a milk pan of 
boiling water upon her feet, but did not know that 
this limb was scalded, till she began to dress the well 
foot. For three years and two months she did not 
walk; for two years she crept upon her knees, drawing 
the lame leg after her; and for the last year she moved 
herself around in a wheeled invalid chair. During 
these three years, she was taken out of her bed in the 
morning, and put into it again at night. For the two 
years and four months, no physician had been in the 
12 



266 PSAYEK AND ITS REMAREA.BLE ANSWERS. 

house, and she had taken no medicine, and resorted to 
no bathing or rubbing. She ate but once a daj and 
immediately vomited. 

"During her sickness God gave me a new heart, 
and I prayed for her conversion, which occurred in 
January, 1874, and then for that of our daughter, 
which took place in February. Previously I was a 
Unitarian, unacquainted with evangelical doctrines. 
'Not knowing that the Christian world had decided 
that the day of miracles was past, in my ignorance 
and simplicity I went to praying, with faith in Christ's 
promise, that my wife might be healed; my wife and 
daughter joining, after their conversion. God gave 
me the assurance that our prayers were accepted, and 
I became bold to say to others that she would soon 
walk. I made this declaration to Hev. James Jenni- 
son, Congregational minister at Canton, and he re- 
plied, ' Why, you can't expect God to do a miracle ! ' 
My assurance grew stronger and stronger, and filled 
me with joy and gratitude. Just then, the water 
came back in large quantity, and, on being tested by 
Dr. Holmes, proved free from albumen. On the morn- 
ing of February 25th, 1874, I prayed earnestly in 
secret, and then ]3laced my wife on her knees, at the 
family altar, and again prayed earnestly that she might 
walk. At the close of the prayer, she was unconscious 
and apparently dead. She remained thus about three 
minutes, when she raised her head and exclaimed: 'I 
can walk ! I know I can walk ! Praise God, I can 
walk ! ' She got up off her knees, and walked twice 



PEAYER FOR PHYSICAL IIEALINa. 



267 



aronnd the room, exclaiming, ^ Praise God, I can 
walk! Why don't you praise God that I can walk?' 
We then commenced shouting, Glory to God! Oh 
the rapture of that moment! We bowed before God 
and thanked him for the great miracle he had per- 
formed. 

I opened the door, and she walked out upon the 
piazza, and about an hour afterwards she walked out 
and shook hands with a neighbor, who was so sur- 
prised, that he lost all power of speech. The para- 
lyzed limb became immediately enlarged, and in a 
few days was plump and round, and stronger than the 
other. The appetite came back, the vomiting ceased, 
and Bright's disease, with all its attendant pains, 
passed av/ay. She is in better health than ever before, 
and like the impotent man at the Beautiful Gate, goes 
about leaping and praising God, often walking eight 
and ten miles in a day, without limping or fatigue. 
^ ^ ^ y^Q Q^^Y faith by prayer and reading 
the promises. How could we, after having been born 
again, refuse to accept those promises as true? Our 
hearts had been given to him, and we prayed for her 
recovery, that each might be enabled to go out into 
the world, and make known the wonderful things God 
had done for us in giving us clean hearts; and by the 
grace of God, so will we ever do." 

Remarks Upon the Yarious Cases Cited. The 
instances which have filled these two chapters will not 
make the same impression upon every mind; nor are 
they all of the same convincing power. It may be 



268 PKATER AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

well to notice several of tlie characteristics, and to con- 
sider tlieir bearing. 

1. A large proportion of the cures are gradual. In 
this they differ from the miraculous healings by the 
Savior and the apostles ; which were instantaneous and 
complete, and needed to be such, to make the desired 
impression, and to serve their peculiar purpose at the 
introduction of the gospel, as indubitable signs of 
divine power. But it is not at all necessary to con- 
sider answer to praj^er as miraculous ; and the moral 
end sought in the discipline of prayer is sufficiently 
gained, if the petition, or its equivalent, is finally 
granted in any of the various methods ; God using nat- 
ural laws, and therefore working out the results often- 
times gradually. 

2. In some cases medicines were employed, and in 
others they were not. Why should their use be con- * 
sidered as indicating any lack of faith? Why should 
God be expected to exempt those who pray, from the 
necessity of using means in this relation more than 
others? We must labor as well as pray, in order to 
succeed in business, or to be useful spiritually. Why 
not apply the same rule in reference to the removal 
of disease? Hezekiah prayed for recovery, and it was 
granted ; but the prophet put a poultice of figs on the 
boil or carbuncle. It was just as well for God to bless 
that as a means, as to answer the prayer in any other 
way. Timothy was troubled with dyspepsia, and Paul 
directed him to confine himself no longer to water, but 
to " use a little wine for his stomach's sake and his 



PEAYEE FOE PHYSICAL HEALING. 



269 



often infirmities." "Why did not Paul direct liim, 
instead, simply to pray in faith? Because he might 
as well, in this as in other things, use wise means and 
then pray with faith for a blessing. It is not even 
certain, but that James ordered the anointing with 
oil, for medicinal as well as for symbolical purposes; 
for olive oil was extensively used at that day in the 
healing art, both internally and externally. At all 
events, it is not easy to see on what authority the use 
of medicine or of other helpful appliances is to be 
ruled out as inconsistent with faith. It will hardly 
be doubted, that Mr. Miiller, of the Bristol orphan 
houses, is a man of faith, and is ready to carry out his 
faith to the farthest Scriptural warrant, fearless of the 
ridicule or contempt of the unbelieving. Yet, 
recently, his institution was visited with typhoid fever, 
and five hundred cases occurred. He prayed earnestly, 
but he also used all known appropriate means. He 
had every appliance for ventilation and disinfection 
recommended by the medical authorities; he isolated 
the sick; and he had the physician visit them twice 
every day. And by God's blessing only five or six 
deaths occurred. There was no v^eakness of faith in 
this, but only a fulfilling of the words of James: 
" Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and 
by works was faith made perfect? ^ * ^ For as 
the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without 
works is deaa also." 

3. Many of the sudden or instantaneous cures are 
to a certain extent naturally explicable. They are dis- 



270 PEATEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 

orders of the nerves, cases of rheumatism, paralysis, 
weakness, etc. It often happens, in such disorders, 
that persons fancy their inability to be greater than it 
is; that they firmly believe in the impossibility of 
their doing certain things, when the impotence is 
largely in their wills. Furthermore, whether the 
impotence be imaginary or real, it is often true, that 
anything which sufficiently excites the mind, to induce 
determined action, restores nervous energy; some- 
times temporarily, sometimes permanently. Thus the 
Independent mentions a girl, who supposed herself 
to be heljDless, but was told by a physician, that he 
would horsewhip her, unless she rose from her bed; 
which she immediately did! It is said that, at the 
time of the great Chicago fire, a lady who had been 
bed-ridden for years, escaped for her life, and was per- 
manently cured. A friend tells the author, of a lady 
thus bed-ridden, whose friends conspired w^ith a noted 
tramp, to startle her into action. The tramp came into 
her room, and took off his coat, announcing his inten- 
tion of undressing and getting into the bed. In her 
terror, she arose and rushed out, and was permanently 
cured ! ]N"ow it may be argued, that such is the tonic 
influence, on the nervous system, of any excitement— 
whether it be that of fear, joy, surprise, expectation or 
imagination of supernatural power — that nervous 
maladies may be suddenly relieved, or even entirely 
removed; and that this is the explanation of the 
Eomish and Protestant faith and prayer-cures. Though 
Bome of the instances are of disorders of quite a dif- 



PEAYER FOE PHYSICAL HEALING. 



2T1 



ferent nature — such as cancer, tnmor, Bright's dis- 
ease, consumption, canker, deafness, etc. — yet it may 
be admitted, that even these might be favorably 
affected, by a powerful determination of v/ill and a set- 
tled expectation of cure. But when this is conceded, 
nothing is subtracted from an intelligent theory of 
prayer; which includes the divine use of natural causes, 
physical or mental, that conduce to the desired end. 
It still remains true, that only prayer has sufficed to 
bring to bear the favorable influences of mind upon 
body, and that the physicians having utterly failed, in 
many cases, after years of effort, a quiet confiding in 
God has at once developed the power of the human 
and divine spirit over matter. Who shall say that 
prayer is then useless, either as an act of submission 
and consecration, or of faith and petition ? 

4. It will be observed that a close connection is 
traceable between the physical and spiritual experi- 
ences of those healed. This is marked in the whole 
course of things under Dorothea Trudel, as also in 
many of the single cases of which the particulars have 
just been given. The removal of disease was the cul- 
mination of a spiritual process, in which the soul 
sought forgiveness and purity, and emerged from dark- 
ness into light. This suggests the connection of sin 
with disease and death, to which the Bible often 
alludes, and also the probable relation of holiness and 
health. For aught we know, the faith of a saint, by 
which he opens his soul to an influx of divine grace, 
may stand related to a quickening of the mysterious 



272 PEATER AKD ITS EEMARKABLE ANSWERS. 



life-principle, wliicli is the gift of God. "Whatever act 
or exercise brings God into the soul, must strengthen 
life, in every sense. Prayer may then be precisely the 
means which stands related appropriately to the removal 
of disease, presenting the soul, in all respects, in the 
position favorable, morally and physically, for securing 
divine intervention. And yet there may be nothing 
traceable by the eye, in the mode of the answer, which 
contravenes natural law. 

5. The seeming law of a specific faith, in the matter 
of healing, is worthy of notice. What is claimed by 
those who have had most experience in that line is, 
that, while a conditional prayer of faith is proper and 
necessary, in all our supplications, the Holy Spirit 
commonly begets within the soul peculiarly intense 
longing and assured expectation, when it is the will of 
God to grant a specific answer to prayer. Thus, Miss 
Mary B. Mossman, who prayed so efiicaciously for the 
cure of the lameness of Rev. S. H. Piatt, when asked 
by him, " Have you ever been sent in this way before," 
said Yes;" and when asked, "Plave you ever been 
mistaken and failed, upon such an occasion ? " replied, 
No, never, when I have been impelled to go as I have 
been to come here. I have had people come to me, 
and urge me to pray for their recovery, and it has done 
them little or no good." In a subsequent interview^ 
she " utterly repudiated the notion that there is resi- 
dent in her a gift of healing in any other sense than 
this; and she believes that it is a privilege which all 
God's people, who live in close communion with him, 



PRATEE FOR PHYSICAL HEALING. 273 

may enjoy. Hence the afflicted, instead of running 
to this or that one, who is supposed to have peculiar 
power in this direction, should gather a few praying 
friends, and lay their case before God in earnest prayer: 
when, if agreeable to his will, they will be healed by 
the prayer of faith; or, if more be needed, the Holy 
Spirit will impel some devout one present to supply 
the lack, either by anointing with oil, or laying on of 
hands." This view at least recognizes the common 
sense truth, that prayer is not intended to cure every 
case of disease among believers, and to release the 
church from the sentence of mortality. A special 
faith is inspired for special cases, in which God sees 
fit to put marked honor on prayer, for the encourage- 
ment of his people, or the confounding of the enemy. 
On any other supposition, how are we to account for 
the lingering illness and final death, at the age of only 
fifty years, of Dorothea Trudel, herself — the eminent 
exemplifier of faith in the prayer-cure? Had she no 
faith for herself? Had her co-laborers in the insti- 
tution no faith in praying for her? Undoubtedly they 
had faith in the general and warranted degree; but 
God wrought in them no such specific faith as to her 
recovery, as served to indicate that to be his will. 

Rev. C. B. Boynton, D. D., of Cincinnati, Ohio, in 
a letter to the author, makes the following thoughtful 
suggestion : 

" There have been instances, in my own church, of 
persons being raised from sick beds, in answer to 
prayer, as I and others believe. So also in my personal 



274 PEATEE AND ITS EEMAEKA5LE ANSWEES. 



experience, I helieve that God lias answered prayer; 
but tlie circumstances, sometimes minute and not to be 
explained to others, cannot be so set forth as to produce 
in others the conviction which I feel myself. The 
]^ew Testament seems to me to teach, that to spiritual 
humanity, the true church, belongs the exercise of 
spirit, or supernatural, power, through faith in Christ, 
who is the source of that power. I think he endowed 
the church with this power, to be conferred on her, on 
the prescribed conditions. It has been lost, in great 
measure, by unbelief and ' non-user.' May we not 
hope for its re-appearance, as the church becomes more 
spiritual, and understands better her royal prerogatives? 
Doubtless there are more cases, even now, of answers 
to prayer, when more than natural power was exerted, 
than the world or even the church is aware of. May 
your researches bring them to light!" 

Medical Explanations by H. M. Lyman, M. D. 
Since the foregoing was written, and just as it was 
passing to the printer, the author's eye fell upon the 
lucid and interesting essay of Dr. H. M. Lyman, in 
The Advance, of October 14, 1875, entitled " The 
Faith-Cure." It comments, from a medical point of 
view, on four of the cases here given, and attributes 
them to purely natural causes. It does not fur- 
nish occasion, however, for additional remark, as 
the most of its suggestions and cautions were antici- 
pated and briefly stated in the foregoing pages. It 
may be well to observe, nevertheless, that the instances 
referred to in these chapters cover a much larger field 



PEAYEE FOE PHYSICAL HEALING. 



275 



of disease than is allowed in the explanation of Dr. 
Lyman ; that many of the cures indicate no excitement 
whatever, in the person healed; and that, in some 
cases, the faith and excited imagination were not at all 
in the patient, but in those who prayed for him. 
There is plainly a larger range for spirit-influence over 
a diseased material organization than physicians are 
wont to recognize; and the fact opens the way for 
prayer to invoke that divine aid which can touch the 
secret springs of life. 

Lord, a whole long day of pain 

'Now at last is o'er ! 
Ah, liow much we can sustain, 

I have felt once more ; 
Felt how frail are all our powers, 

And how weak our trust ; 
If thou help not, these dark hours 

Crush us to the dust. 

Draw my weary heart away 

From this gloom and strife; 
And these fever-pains allay 

With the dew of life : 
Thou canst calm the troubled mind. 

Thou its dread canst still ; 
Teach me to be all-resigned 

To my Father's will. 

Then, if I must wake and weep. 

All the long night through, 
Thou the watch with me will keep, 

Friend and Guardian true : 
In the darkness thou wilt speak 

Lovingly with me, 
Though my heart may vainly seek 

Words to breathe to thee. 

— Reinrich Puchta. 



CHAPTER XIY. 



PRATER FOR SANGTIFTING GRACE. 

It is noticeable in the narratives of Scripture, espe- 
cially in connection with the ministry of the Savior 
and liis apostles, that there was usually a marked con- 
nection of outward and inward bestowments. If 
Christ healed the sick, it was to draw attention to the 
moral diseases of men, and to himself as the Great 
Physician. If he fed the hungry multitude with 
miraculously increased loaves and fishes, it was to tell 
them afterward of their spiritual need, and of himself 
as the Bread of Life. If he opened the eyes of one 
born blind, it was that he might also clear the inner 
vision, and pour light on a dark soul. And the recip- 
ients of his benefactions seem to have exercised faith 
in him for salvation from sin as well as from bodily 
maladies. Their completed prayers had a double 
object, and in the end secured a double answer. And 
so Jesus taught his disciples that the highest exercise 
of prayer was in obtaining God's divinest bestowment, 
the gift of the Holy Spirit. It was to this power that 
he made the parental analogy apply : "If ye, then, 
being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your 
children, how much more shall your Heavenly Fatlier 
give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him." Luke 

(276) 



PEAYEK FOE SANCTIFYING GEACE. 277 



xi:13. Prayer for the in-dwelling of the Spirit, with 
all the fullness of his sanctifying grace, ought then to 
be the most natural and continual of the petitions of 
the Christian. 

There is reason to fear that too many of our prayers 
in this connection are verbal only; that* is, we have 
not faith to expect actual results from them. Yet 
here the greatest certainty is to be expected ; because 
we can be certain of our real wants and of the divine 
will. Both are plainly stated in Scripture. One diiii- 
culty is, that ministers so widely preach a fhilosojr>Tiy 
instead of a gospel — a self-healing, through natural 
laws, instead of a divine healing by supernatural grace. 
They do this, in a measure, unconsciously, in harmony 
with the spirit of the age. As Dr. PL Bushnell 
remarks, in his " Kature and Tlie Supernatural": 
" Calling the God we prove, a personal being, and 
meaning it in good faith, we yet hnd ourselves living 
before causes and looking for consequences. We only 
half-believe in prayer. We expect to be delivered of 
sin, by a long course of duty and self-reformation, that 
will finally pacify the offended laws of nature, and 
bring them on our side again. That God will do any- 
thing for us, himself, or hold any terms of real society 
with us, we but faintly believe." 

It is therefore important to revive the faith of the 
church in the direct efficacy of prayer in the matter 
of spiritual healing. Indirectly it operates, in the 
ordinary course of mental law, to elevate, awe, refine 
and purify the soul, by the impression it gives of God 



278 PEAYEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 

and duty ; mucla as reading a good book, or convers- 
ing with a good man would do. But, riglitly used as 
a petition to God, it will accomplish vastly more: for 
it will also bring the power of the Holy Ghost into the 
soul as a supernatural grace. 

This was the testimony of Paul in the matter of the 
" thorn in the flesh " : " For this thing I besought the 
Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he 
said unto me. My grace is sufficient for thee; for my 
strength is made perfect in thy weakness. Most 
gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, 
that the power of Christ may rest upon meP 2 Cor. 
xii : 8, 9. The fact seems to have been, that Paul was 
subject to attacks of a disease, which came upon him 
suddenly, which subjected him to much mortification, 
and which seemed to him to interfere greatly with his 
usefulness. He refers to the same thing, apparently, 
in Galatians iv:13, 14: "Ye know how through 
infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you 
at the first. And my temptation (or trial) which was 
in my flesh, ye despised not, nor rejected, but received 
me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus." Also 
in 1 Cor. ii: 3: " And I was with you in weakness, and 
in fear, and in much trembling." The apostle natur- 
ally made this a matter of prayer, that the disease 
might be healed. He did this, at three separate times ; 
probably at three separate places, where he had gone 
to preach the gospel, and had experienced these mor- 
tifying attacks. His prayer was answered ; but not in 
the manner anticipated. God told him that, on the 



PRAYER FOE SANCTIFYING GRACE. 



279 



whole, grace to bear the trial would be better than to 
have the trial removed; and that this would not only 
benefit him the more, but would be the more helpful 
to the progress of the gospel. And Paul cheerfully 
accepted this solution of the difficulty; this response 
to his prayer for aid. " The power of Christ " thence- 
forth was made to "rest upon" him, so that he could 
easily and joyfully endure the trial, and could say, " I 
take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessi- 
ties, in persecutions, in distresses, for. Christ's sake; for 
when I am weak (naturally), then am I strong (spirit- 
ually)." We are then to expect precisely the kind 
and degree of grace which our peculiar circumstances 
may require, and special prayer for such grace will be 
specifically answered. 

An English Lady's Experience. An estimable 
Christian lady, who resides in London, and with whom 
the author has had a personal acquaintance for more 
than thirty years, thus writes to him, under date of 
Sept. 1st, 1875, concerning her combined bodily and 
spiritual experience. Her account makes an instruct- 
ive transition from the topic of the three previous 
chapters to that of the present chapter„ She was 
afflicted with a disease which commonly terminates 
fatally, though some cases are saved by a critical 
surgical operation, which often results disastrously. 
She writes: 

"That you may the better realize my blessing, I 
must tell you, the honest truth, that I am a decided 
coward as to any inflicted pain, and when circum- 



280 PKAYER AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 

stances raised the question, in my mind occasionally— 
' could I ever consent to any operation ? ' — I never 
could answer, 'Yes.' 'No such, thing seemed likely, 
and I put the thoughts away. But when disease was 
discovered, sure to be fatal, unless there should be 
escape by means of an operation, from the effects of 
which many sink, I was just enabled quietly to weigh 
the pros and cons, and decide that it should be done. 
For it was too critical a case for the doctors to prescribe 
such means; they simply suggest, and let the patient 
decide. Never before, I think, was I enabled to put 
the whole thing so completely into the hands of our 
loving Lord. I only remember two definite requests 
in my prayers about it: first, that I m'ight not undergo 
the operation, unless it was to be successful; aud 
secondly, that I might not dishonor him by fear. And 
emphatically were both petitions answered. During 
all the intervening months, / had no fear whatever. 
I talked of it as coolly as of any ordinary occurrence, 
with the full consciousness that there was something 
close by very dark, at which if I looked, for five 
minutes, I should be in perfect terror (I use the term 
advisedly); but if ever tempted so to do, there seemed 
a gentle whisper, that I was not to look at that, but at 
my loving Savior. My sleep was good. Some friends 
took leave of me, as they thought, for the last time; 
but I was kept calm and peaceful, up to the last 
moment; more even to my own astonishment, I think, 
than to that of my friends, because I alone knew my 
own cowardice. To show you that it was no natural 



PEATES FOE SANCTIFYING GEACE. 281 



calmness, I must add, that tlie supposed necessity for 
leaving my own home for medical treatment cost me 
some days of severe struggle, before my will could be 
brought to it. The will was subdued, and then I was 
graciously allowed to remain at home." 

Here was a gift of grace, to overcome a natural in- 
firmity — a special fear of suffering and danger. Prayer 
can equally bring divine aid to lift one above any other 
weakness, such as frailties of temper. Let the follow- 
ing instance illustrate the idea: 

A YicTOEY ovEE Ieeitability. A certain lady, of 
whom the author heard, was in bondage to an impatient 
and irritable temper. Its sudden outbursts caused her 
much mortification and grief, for she felt tha^t they 
were unworthy of' a disciple of Christ. And yet she 
seemed powerless, when the disturbing occasions arose. 
She made solemn resolutions to restrain herself, and 
ofiered general prayers for divine aid, confessing her 
sin with humility and contrition. But the element 
of faith was lacking — the specific and assured faith 
warranted by the promises of the Bible. So she 
struggled, and resolved, and was continually defeated, 
so that she despaired of victory. But at a meeting of 
ladies for prayer, she was urged to make a more com- 
plete consecration of herself to God, and in connection 
with that to put a specific faith into her prayer, that 
she would be accepted and kept. She did so, and on 
her way to her house inwardly prayed for victory, as 
she knew that her temptations were most common and 
severe amid domestic scenes, and that she had declared 
12* 



282 PRATEE AND ITS EEMARKABLE ANSTt'ERS. 

these to be irresistible. But now she trusted her 
Savior, and believed, with Paul, that " the power of 
Christ " would " rest upon " her. Eeaching home, 
and opening the front door, she saw a domestic viola- 
ting one of her most explicit rules, bj carrying a slop- 
pptil down the front stairs. This was hard for her to 
endure with patience, when the act was so suddenly 
revealed ; but to make the matter worse, and as trying 
as it well could be, the domestic was so terrified at the 
unexpected sight of her mistress, that she dropped the 
pail from her hand, and the contents flowed down the 
stairs and over the carpet to the hall below ! The lady 
uttered not a word, but whispering to herself, over and 
over, ''Jesus, help me! Jesus, help me! " gained the 
victory. With unruffled temper she went in and met 
the emergency. Learning thus the value of believing 
and ejaculatory prayer, she found thereafter no difii- 
culty in curbing what she had supposed to be her 
uncontrollable irritability. 

It will be remembered that, in Dorothea Trudel's 
prayer-institution the spiritual healing was made 
the prime thing, and the physical cure was the adjunct, 
and in a measure the consequence. Her biographer 
says: "She used to enter into conversation with the 
patient as to the state of his mind, and to seek out 
those inward enemies, which, like the Jebusites, 
wished to share the land with the Lord. She did not 
wish to bring Christians under the law again, but she 
was anxious to see God's freed children like coins, 
bearing on the one side the image of Jesus in his love, 



PEAYEK FOR SANOTIFTINa GEACE. 283 



gentleness, patience, forbearance and humanity, and 
on the other side, the inscription, ' Let every one that 
nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.' " 

This leads to the remark, that prayer holds the key 
to that precious experience which of late years has 
been often denominated the Higher Christian Life. 
The author has uttered his views of this experience, 
in his little book, entitled, " Spiritual Yictory," (pub- 
lished by the Congregational Publishing Society,) to 
which he would refer the reader for many things which 
cannot be said here. The present object is, to draw 
attention to the relation which the "Higher Life" 
sustains to prayer, as illustrated by various personal 
experiences. No controversy need here be raised over 
the precise nature of that higher life, nor as to the 
most appropriate name by which to distinguish it. 
Suffice it to say, that it is a condition of entire conse- 
cration, of soul-liberty, of filial confidence, of assured 
hope, of conscious acceptance with God, of intimate 
union with him in all that respects one's purposes 
and expectations in life, and of victory over temptation 
and besetting sin. It is thus a great advance beyond 
that doubting, vacillating, fearful, conscience-stricken 
experience, which is so common, and in which there 
is much condemnation and little peace, occasional 
reviving and long declension, earnest revolving and 
small performance. It is a state of abiding light and 
love, in which the soul has entered into rest, and does 
God's will with a sense of freedom and blessedness. 

It usually is not apprehended, until one has had 



284 PKATER Am) ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 



considerable experience, after conversion, in trying to 
maintain a spiritual life by dint of resolutions and 
will-work and legal struggles, and has been brouglit 
to a self-despair; when, under proper religious instruc- 
tion, or through study of the divine word and illu- 
mination of the Spirit, the soul learns with surprise 
the simplicity and power of faith. Then prayer takes 
on new meaning, and has a continual prevalence, as 
Jesus said: " If ye abide in me, and my words abide 
in you, ye shall ask what ye wdll, and it shall be done 
unto you." John xv: 7. There are those who quietly 
glide into this victorious life; but more often a struggle 
precedes, a new submission of the will takes place, 
earnest prayer is made for the fulfillment of Scriptural 
promises, and a kind of second conversion occurs, 
which brings one upon a higher grade of holy living, 
characterized by habitual consecration, faith and prayer. 

A Student's Yictory. The following narrative was 
published some years since, in the Oherlin Evangelist. 
It was written by a student in an Eastern college, and 
gives the result, in his case, of prayer and faith brought 
to bear upon personal religious experience. Many sim- 
ilar narratives were given, from time to time, in that 
paper : 

" When I felt the peace resulting from closing in 
with the gospel-terms of salvation, I could not mis- 
take it. I knew I was a Christian, and I never was 
without e^ddence of the fact. But soon the tempter 
came in power, and tried to turn me back, but prayer 
disarmed him, and drove him back from his prey. 



PEAYEE FOE SANCTIFYING GEACE. 



285 



* * ^- For the first few months, it seemed as if I 
could attend to nothing, but examine my own heart, 
and read and pray. And the more I examined, the 
more I could discover the snares of the tempter, and 
the more it seemed impossible that I should overcome; 
but the Savior was ever nigh, and one look from him 
w^as enough. My greatest difficulty I found in my 
own heart. I was continually prone to indulge sinful 
thoughts, and I felt I ought not to have any. In short, 
without distinctly knowing what I was seeking, I was 
striving for freedom from sin, for a pure heart. ^' ^ ^ 
With strong crying and tears, I prayed and pleaded 
with God. My prayer was, that I might be made as 
much like Christ as it was possible for mortal man to 
be. Thus I continued for weeks. Gradually the bur- 
den left me. In the spring, after a season of great 
conflict with the tempter, and various humiliating cir- 
cumstances, I enjoyed uninterrupted peace, for about 
two weeks. Then I was again left to buffet with the 
adversary for a few weeks, though at times I was filled' 
with love. Afterwards I had another season of about 
four weeks complete peace. Then I had another strug- 
gle with the tempter; but by the grace of God I tri- 
umphed. All the time I seemed unworthy of the 
least notice from God, and the thought of my infinite 
un worthiness filled my eyes with tears. The first 
week in June, there was another pi-otracted meeting. 
I felt happy, though most unworthy. Our prayers 
were continually ascending, and all seemed blessed. 
On the Sabbath, we celebrated the dying love of the 



286 PEATER AND ITS EEMAEKABLE AI^SWERS. 



Savior. At tlie close, while singing, there was a sndv 
den burst of light poured into my heart, and so exces- 
sive was the brightness that I could not sing, and I 
could hardly refrain from shouting aloud. For some 
weeks, I hardly dared move, for fear I should grieve 
the Sj)irit and lose my enjoyment. But gradually I 
acquired strength, my peace flowed like a river, and 
joy unspeakable and full of glory took possession of 
me. I have never lost it, from that time to the pres- 
ent, now more than fourteen months. I find no check 
to the full flow of joy, but weakness of body. My 
whole joy is in doing God's will." 

Mrs. Whitney's " Eicher Experience." Mrs. 
"Whitney's narrative of the power of prayer to secure 
relief of temporal want, and the bestowment of physi- 
cal healing, has been already given. She has printed, 
in a little tract, published at the "Willard Tract 
Depository," Boston, Mass., an account of its power in 
the higher sphere, entitling it, "My Bicher Experi- 
ence," from which the following is extracted: 

" I sought in various ways, such as fasting, conse- 
cration, pleading, and good works. And I received 
many rich blessings, even baptisms of power, but 
nothing lasting. I had not then learned the beautiful 
lesson Christ taught, when he prayed the Father to 
sanctify his disciples " through the truth." At length 
I cried out from the depths of an anguished soul, 
' Dear Lord, give me purity of heart, let it cost what 
it may. Make the cleansing complete.' God answered 



PRATER FOR SANCTIFYING GRACE. 



287 



that j)rajer, and it cost me a great price, even the 
passing through the fiery furnace of affliction. 

" First, I was called to relinquish many things 
desirable and lovely — called to leave my pleasant 
home in the West, to suffer the reverses of fortune, bid 
farewell to the dear church and friends, and all the 
pleasant associations, and to break the tender ties so 
dear to me, and seek a place among strangers, far from 
my childhood-home. I was particularly fond of 
society, and loved human sympathy, ah, so well ! and 
my grief and sorrow were by so much the greater. 
But this was not all. While en route to my new home, 
I stopped to spend the Sabbath with a friend in 
Fulton, ]Sr. Y. 

" On Monday, as I was about leaving, there came into 
my soul such a deep feeling of my need of special 
strength, that I went alone before God, and poured 
out my supplications to him. 

" He heard that praj^er, and gave me such a sense 
of his sustaining presence as satisfied me entirely. 
Oh, how timely! But for this I sliould have been 
crushed by the heart-rending scene that awaited me. 
Our eldest boy, of thirteen summers, asked and received 
permission to make a farewell visit to a favorite resort 
of his by the canal. With all the buoyancy of youth 
and beauty he left me; but scarcely had the sound of 
his light footsteps died away ere the word came, ' He 
is drowning!' I rushed to the spot. Oh, what a 
sight for a fond mother to see! Did it not require 
more than human strength, to witness such a scene — 



288 PEAYEE AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

my bright and beautiful boj struggling in death, and 
I without power to save! Ah, yes; and divine power 
did sustain me and enable me to say, ' Thy will be 
done.' The Lord in that moment brought home to 
my heart these beautiful words : 

* Other refuge have I none, 

Hangs my helpless soul on Thee ; 
Leave, oh leave me not alone. 
Still support and comfort me.' 

He did support and keep me calmly. 

"The united efforts of kind and loving friends failed 
to save him. They bore his form above the waters, — 
that form which but a moment before was so bright 
and beautiful in life and health, — but it was now cold 
in death. The sight was too much for poor humanity. 
I sank imconscious of earthly surroundings. But 
Jesus, the dear, loving Jesus, lingered closely by me, 
whispering to my sorrowful heart, ' I will not leave 
you comfortless.' Oh, how precious were his words! 
how they strengthened me! Then and there he pre- 
pared me for coming scenes: to meet my companion 
from whom I had been separated six weeks; to per- 
form the last sad offices for all that remained of our 
precious child; to take the last lingering look of the 
dear features, now so still and cold. Oh, what a 
moment of unutterable anguish, as we gazed for the 
last time upon our beautiful dead, our darling Willie 
. — then to close the casket that contained that precious 
body, and commit it to the grave, there to leave him 
until the morning of the resurrection ! 



PEAYER FOE SANCTIFYmG GEACE. 



289 



" Plow sad then to leave tlie place, and pnrsne my 
jonrney! Yet I was kept. by divine love and power 
through weeks and months of extreme loneliness of 
heart, among strangers, bereft of all human sympathy. 

" Last of all, I had to give up human sympathy, the 
very treasure I coveted most, and thought my nature 
demanded. But oh, how trifling it now appeared in 
comparison with the divine sympathy that the dear 
Lord was pleased to pour into my lacerated, bleeding 
heart ! 

" When my heart was emptied of all, and so purified 
to God, he entered the open door, and took the vacated 
throne within, and gave me perfect peace. 

"The change seemed greater than my conversion, 
which had been clear and satisfactory. Even the 
Bible seemed like a new book, filled with so many 
precious promises; and as the ' Blessed Eemembrancer' 
revealed the truths to me, verifying that promise, that 
he would ' take the things of Christ and show them 
unto us,' my spiritual vision became so clear that I 
could see light in his light, and build on that sure 
foundation, ' Christ being the chief corner-stone.' I 
realized that Christ had power to ' sanctify me wholly,' 
' keep me from sin,' ' and preserve me blameless unto 
his coming.' " 

A Physician's Experience. The reader has probably 
read in the papers of R. Pearsall Smith, an American 
Christian, of the denomination of " Friends," who has 
had much success in Germany and in England, in 
rousing the people of God to increased interest in 
13 



290 PEATEK AKD ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 



divine things. He is the author of a little book, called 
" Holiness through Faith," in which he has embodied 
occasional narratives. One of these is that of a phy- 
sician, of which the following is an extract: 

" More earnestly than ever, and many times a day, 
I prayed for strength to overcome, but found no rest 
to my soul, until I stopped praj-ing for grace to over- 
come, and gam ray self wholly to God, to he kept. At 
this time the Lord revealed to me, in a wonderful 
manner, in all its majesty, the power of the prayer 
which he taught us to use: 'Our Father, which art 
in heaven, ^ ^ lead us not into temptation, but 
deliver us from evil; for thine is the kingdom and the 
power and the glory, forever, Amen.' Oh, how my 
soul was filled, as I realized, for the first time, that it 
was his power that was to keep me — for ' Thine is the 
power ' ! The work was all done then — no more 
striving, no more praying for strength to overcome, 
but simply, day by day, 'Jesus, keep me; for thine 
is power and the glory; ' and there I rest and am 
kept:' 

Testimony of a Peesbyteeian Mintstee. The same 
little work adduces the testimony of a Presbyterian 
minister, which may be thus condensed: " I had been 
preaching with much joy one evening, on the text, 
' The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from 
all sin,' and seeking to teach through it, to the sinners 
present, their privilege of immediate and full remission 
of sins through the blood of Christ. On returning to 
my lodgings with a Christian brother, he spoke to me 



PEAYEE FOE SANCTIFYING GEACE. 291 



of Ms enjoyment of the address, and then went on to 
make some remarks on teachino- half-truths from half- 
texts. He related how, that, for ten years, he had con- 
stantly preached from the words, 'Who his own self 
bare our sins in his own body on the tree,' without 
ever teaching the complement, in the last half of the 
verse: ' that we, being dead unto sins, should live unto 
righteousness.' He had taught abiding in Christ, 
without its result of sinning not. He had often said, 
' Who gave himself for us,' without adding, ' that he 
might redeem us from all iniquity.' ^ ^ ^ At a 
conference meeting of Presbytery, it was one evening 
proposed, to consecrate ourselves more definitely and 
fully to God; and the act was accompanied by a won- 
derful baptism of the Spirit, which opened to my soul 
the hope of the near consummation of my soul-long- 
ings. * -s^- * I ^as led to see, as never before, the 
privilege of an entire soul-rest in Christ; and that it 
was to be entered into by faith. ^ ^ ^ \ proposed 
to a Christian manufacturer, that a few Christians 
should meet together, the next day, to enter into rest. 
I did not say to seek rest, but, so confident was my 
faith, * to enter in? Ten earnest, godly men, mostly 
from his workshops, on the following day, knelt down 
in my friend's warehouse, among the boxes. We 
remained on our knees an hour and a quarter, in 
prayer, praise, and consecration. Of us too, it might 
be said: 'And when they had prayed, the place was 
shaken where they were assembled together, and they 
were all filled with the Holy Ghost.' I have been 



292 PKAYEK AND ITS SEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 

conscious, ever since, that it was tlien and tliere tliat, 
in a definite transaction with God, I entered into a 
complete soul-rest in Christ; a rest through the 
cleansing blood, which my soul has never lost for one 
hour since. It was attended by the satisfying cer- 
tainty, that whatever spiritual blessings I thenceforth 
claimed, in simple faith, should be mine. ^ ^ J 
can now see no limit to the possibilities of the life of 
Christ in my soul, since I have accepted the atonement 
in its full purposes, both of pardon and holiness." 

Paul wrote to the Galatians (v : 16): Walk in the 
Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh." 
The relations which prayer sustains to this breadth and 
depth of experience, he thus sets forth to the Ephe- 
sians (iii : 14-21): "For this cause I bow my knees 
unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ — of wdiom 
the whole family in heaven and earth is named — that 
he would grant you, according to the riches of his 
glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in 
the inner man ; that Christ may dwell in your hearts 
by faith, that ye being rooted and grounded in love, 
may be able to comprehend, with all saints, what is 
the breadth and length and depth and height; and to 
know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, 
that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. 
Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly 
above all that we ask or think, according to the j)Ower 
that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church, 
by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without 
end. Amen." 



PKAYER FOE SANCTIFYmG GEACE. 293 



It was intended to insert several additional narra- 
tives, to the same effect as tlie foregoing; but space 
fails, and there is the less need so to do, as within a 
few years, many books have been published devoted 
specifically to this point. The attention of Christians 
of all denominations has been directed increasingly to 
the sanctifying power, of a simple faith in God, to 
preserve the soul amid life's temptations. This faith, 
through prayer, draws at sight upon the divine 
treasury, for the needed influence of the Holy Ghost, 
and the draft is ever honored. There is more readiness, 
however, to admit a general grace of God adequate to 
general wants, than to believe in a spiritual power 
sufficient to give immediate and permanent victory 
over certain special temptations connected with 
physical habit. To these, therefore, our attention will 
next be turned. 

O thou, my God, my being's liealth and source, 

Better than life, brighter than noon to me ; 
Stretch out thy loving hand, with gentle force. 

Bend this still-struggling will, and draw it after thee. 

Return to me, my oft-forgotten God, 
My spirit's true though long-forsaken rest; 

Undo these bars, re-enter thine abode. 

In thee and in thy love alone would I be blest. 

He-mould this inner man in every part ; 

Re-knit these broken ties ; resume thy sway ; 
Take, as thy throne, and altar, this j^oor heart ; 

Oh teach me how to love ; oh help me to obey ! 

— Horatius Bonar. 



CHAPTEE XY. 



PRAYER TO OVERCOME PHYSICAL HABIT. 

In addition to tlie illustrations given in the pre- 
vious chapter, of prayer as an instrument of sanctifi- 
cation in general, it is well to collect a few of the 
proofs which attest its power in a special field, and 
that one of peculiar difficulty. Most forms of evil 
indulgence produce permanent habits, which are well 
nigh ineradicable; because they have a double hold on 
the spiritual and on the physical nature. The will 
loses ability to resist, the desires are permanently 
excited, and become imperious, and the debauched 
imagination pictures delight in indulgence. Then a 
diseased condition of the nerves, the stomach, and 
other sensitive parts sets in, creating an intense crav- 
ing for evil excitement, and a keen suffering when 
this excitement is denied. Hence the apparently 
hopeless condition of a confirmed drunkard, tobacco- 
user, opium-consumer, glutton, or debauchee. Soul 
and body are slaves to sensual indulgence, and who 
shall break the chains and pronounce the decree of 
emancipation? 

Precisely here philosophy usually fails, and the 
gospel wins a divine victorj^ Therefore those make a 
capital mistake, who preach a religious philosophy, 

(294) 



PKAYEE TO OVERCOME PHYSICAL HABIT. 295 

and think it is a gospel, becanse tliej connect a text 
and the word Christian with it. This is done, when 
the appeal made is only that of truth to the con- 
science, to arouse a sense of obligation, and to set the 
man upon a will-work of resolutions. Those resolu- 
tions are sure to be broken, and the man relapses into 
his habit with increased despair of ever being de- 
livered. He alternates for a time, between reforma- 
tions and relapses, and then ceases to struggle longer. 
His weakness is in the lack of the faith-element. 
Duty has been preached ; but not power, hope, liberty, 
through the grace of Christ. He is only taught to 
await the slow result of a gradually forming good 
habit of body and mind. But there are many facts 
which go to show a special power in the gospel to 
cope with these foes — facts which point to prayer as 
the means of providing an effectual divine aid. These 
facts are not as yet widely known, and are likely not 
to be credited, except as unimpeachable testimony is 
brought to their support. But if such deliverance is 
possible, the truth should be proclaimed far and near, 
for the victims of these habits are many, and their 
friends have lost hope for them. 

The chief reason for the discouragement is the 
failure of so many past efforts at reform. But was 
the prayer of faith offered continuously during the 
effort? Unless the spiritual law be followed in its 
conditions, there must be failure. These words ex- 
press the conditions — consecration, prayer, faith. The 
breaking up of a sinful habit is not to be undertaken 



296 PEATEE AOT) ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 



as an isolated tiling. It must be part of a universal 
and thorough renovation, in which body and soul are 
yielded up to God in joyous and unconditional conse- 
cration, to be wholly and forever his. Then with this 
must be earnest prayer, and a corresj)onding expecta- 
tion, based on the explicit divine promises. God 
says: "My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength 
is made perfect in weakness." " God is faithful, ^vho 
will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are 
able; but will with the temptation also make a way 
to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." "^N^either 
fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effemi- 
nate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor 
thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor 
extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God. And 
such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are 
sanctified, but ye are justified in the nar)ie of the Lord 
Jesus, and hy the Spirit of our GodP Here is all the 
support which faith needs. ^N'ow for the correspond- 
ing facts. 

Augustine's Defeat and Yictoet. The principle 
involved is well illustrated by the case of Augustine, 
who had been a slave to sensual habits, and who long 
had sought to overcome them, prior to his conversion, 
by resohitions and other legal struggles, after the 
impotent fashion described by Paul in the seventh 
chapter of Eomans. His own account is: "Thus 
soul-sick was I, and tormented, accusing myself much 
more severely than my wont, rolling and turning ine 
in my chain, till that were wholly broken, whereby I 



PEATEE TO OVEECOME PHYSICAL HABIT. 297 

now was but just held. Thou, O Lord, didst press 
upon me inwardly, with severe mercy, redoubling the 
lashes of fear and shame, lest I should again give way, 
and that same slight remaining tie should recover 
strength and bind me faster. For I said within myself, 
' Be it done now! Be it done now! ' And as I spake, 
I all but enacted it, I all but did it, and did it not; 
yet sunk not back to my former state, but kept my 
stand hard by, and took breatfe. And I essayed again, 
and wanted somewhat less of it, and somewhat less, 
and all but touched and laid hold of it; and yet came 
not at it, nor touched, nor laid hold of it; hesitating to 
die to death, and to live to life ; and the worse, where 
to I was inured, prevailed more with me than the 
better, where to I was unused. And the very moment 
wherein I was to become other than I was, the nearer 
it approached me, the greater horror did it strike into 
me; yet did it not strike me back, nor turn me away, 
but held me in suspense. The very toys of toys, and 
vanities of vanities, my ancient mistresses, still held 
me: they plucked my fleshly garment, and whispered 
softly: ' Dost thou cast us off? and from that moment, 
shall we no more be with thee forever? and from that 
moment shall not this or that be lawful for thee, 
forever?' And what was it, which they suggested, O 
my God ? Let thy mercy turn it away from the soul 
of thy servant. What defilements they did suggest! 
what shame! But now I much less than half-heard 
them, not openly showing themselves and contradict- 
ing me, but muttering as it were behind my back, and 



298 PKAYEK AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANS^VEES. 

privily as I was departing, but to look 

back on tliem. Yet they did retard me, so tliat I 
hesitated to burst and to shake myself free from them, 
and to spring over whither I was called— a violent 
habit saying to me, ' Thinkest thou, thou canst live 
without them?'" 

Then came up, he tells us, better thoughts, and " the 
chaste dignity of Continency " who seemed to say to 
him : Canst thou not "do what these youths, what 
these maidens can? or do they do it of themselves, and 
not rather by the Lord, their God ! The Lord, their 
God, gave me unto them. Why standest thou in 
thyself, and so art falling! Cast thyself upon him; 
fear not; he will not withdraw himself that thou 
shouldest fall. Cast thyself fearlessly upon him ; he 
will receive, and will heal thee." ^ ^ ^ "I cast 
myself down, I know not how, under a certain fig tree, 
giving full vent to my tears, and the floods of mine 
eyes gushed out, an acceptable sacrifice to thee. And, 
not indeed in these words, yet to this purpose, spake 
I much unto thee. ' And thou, O Lord, how long? 
how long. Lord; wilt thou be angry forever? Remem- 
ber not our former iniquities.' For I felt that I was 
held by them. I sent up these sorrowful words : How 
long? how long? To-morrow and to-morrow? why, is 
there not an end, this hour, to my uncleanness? " It 
was when he came to this point of prayer and faith, 
and rested, as related in a previous chapter, on the 
wordsj "Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make 



PEAYEE TO OVERCOME PHYSICAL HABIT. 299 



no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof," 
that he gained the victory over all his habits. 

YlCTOKY OVER ToBACCO AND OpIUM HaBITS. EeV. W. 

H. Boole, in his missionary work in the city of l^ev/ 
York, has paid innch attention to this subject, and has 
published some of the facts which have come to his 
knowledge, in a tract called " The Wonders of Grace;" 
to the contents of w^hich the author has made refer- 
ence in his " Spiritual Yictory," in these words: 

" One is of an officer in a church in ^ew York, who 
had used tobacco for forty years, making, during that 
time, many efforts to abandon the practice, but always 
failing because of the resultant inward gnawing. But 
he was brought to an act of specific faith in Jesus to 
save him from the appetite; and now, after several 
years, he testifies: 'From that hour all desire left 
me, and I have ever since hated, what I once so fondly 
loved.' Another is of a prominent church member in 
Brooklyn, N. Y., who had used tobacco for thirty years, 
and could not endure to be without a cigar in his 
mouth, and sometimes even rose and smoked in the 
night. After many failures to overcome the habit, 
one night when alone, he cast himself on his S?ivior for 
just this victory; and from that hour was delivered 
from the desire as well as from the outward act, and 
now wonders that he ever loved the filthy practice. 
A certain old lady, who lived near Westbrook, Ct., 
aged seventy, was a confirmed opium eater, and used 
daily an amount sufficient to kill twenty persons. She 
was led to see that the habit was a sinj and as such 



300 FKAYEE AND ITS KEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

she abandoned it, with specific application to Christ 
to save her from it. She was heard, and lived for two 
years afterAvards, free from any desire for that drug. 
A similar case was that of a carpenter in BrookljTi, i^. 
Y., who, from taking morphine to allay the pain of a 
fractured leg, fell into its habitual use, till he almost 
lived upon it, for several years after his recovery. He 
once swallowed, in the presence of several physicians, 
a dose which it was calculated would destroy the lives 
of two hundred ordinary men! l^ot long since, he 
was made to look at this as sin, and tried to break off 
the habit, abstaining with an alarming reaction, till 
five physicians declared that death would ensue, if he 
did not resume it. This he did for a year; but, then, 
on a certain Sunday evening, broke off again, casting 
himself by faith on Christ, from which moment the 
desire left him, and has never returned, and he has 
experienced no reaction or other ill effect, but has 
greatly improved in health." 

Cases Eepoeted by Mes. C. S. Whitney. In her 
letter to the author, on other relations of prayer, from 
which quotations have been made, Mrs. Whitney thus 
speaks on the point now in hand: 

" My husband having used tobacco for twenty-five 
years, became convinced that the habit was sinful, and 
four years ago, he gave it up. Shortly after, he met a 
maD on the street smoking a fine cigar, and the crav- 
ing appetite that thereupon took possession of him 
was fearful. Pie was strongly tempted to yield; but 
the blessed Holy Spirit revealed Christ to him as able 



PRAYER TO OVEECOME PHYSICAL HABIT. 301 



to save to the uttermost; and right there, on the street, 
he asked God to destroy the appetite. That prayer 
was answered immediately, and to this day lie has 
never since had a desire for tobacco, but loathes it." 

" A Christian brother, living near Boston, came to me 
recently, and asked me to pray for him, as that day he 
had been convinced that he could no longer indulge 
in the use of tobacco, and claim heirship with Christ. 
Having used it very freely for thirty years, he thought 
it would cost him a great struggle, to give it up ; but 
he was resolved to do so, if it caused a separation of 
soul and body. He asked me to pray that he miglit 
be sustained during the conflict. I asked him if he 
could trust God to take away the appetite, that 
moment. After a brief hesitation he said: ' I believe 
he is able, and, I trust, willing.' In a very few words 
of prayer I asked the dear Lord to do this work — to 
break the bondage, the power of Satan, and set this 
man free. He responded: 'Amen: so let it be.' From 
that moment, he was so delivered from the appetite, 
that he has felt no temptation to indulge in it since." 

Peayer and the Alcohol Appetite. Hev. Wm. 
L. Bray writes to the author, as follows: *'Eev. Mr. 

H , now of C , is a converted drunkard. He 

was a drunkard for more than twenty-five years. 
When he was converted, his appetite was fearfully 
strong, and for years it clung to him and worried him. 
At one time he went to Grand Rapids for a load of 
lumber. It was a chilly day, and, on his way home, 
he would have to pass a rum-shop. As he neared that 



802 PEAYER AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

shop, his old appetite awoke in power, and it became 
more and more clamorous, until he felt afraid to go 
forward. He felt that he could not pass the rum-hole. 
He drove his team aside, went into the woods, fell 
down before God, and cried mightily for deliverance 
from this appetite. He said: 'The Lord heard me, 
and answered me, and I rose up a free man, and have 
heen free ever since! ' I had this statement from Mr. 
H , himself, but I cannot give the date„'' 

A Case in Ireland. Eev. "William Gibson, in his 
account of the wonderful revival in Ireland, in 1859, 
gives an account of one David Cresswell, who had been 
a Romanist, and was afflicted with stammering to such 
a degree as almost incapacitated him for communicat- 
ing his thoughts to others, yet who, as far as he could 
articulate, was a horrible blasphemer. He was, also, 
addicted to the most immoderate use of tobacco and 
of strong drink. But, passing a house, he heard the 
voice of prajer, went in, united in the devotions, and, 
on leaving, was soon overwhelmed with a sense of his 
sin, and fell prostrate to the earth. After a fortnight 
of distress of mind, he found peace in Christ, to whom 
he made believing application ; and, singular to relate, 
he lost all taste for both liquor and tobacco, and was 
cured of his infirmity of speech! The particulars, at 
length, may be found on pages 369-371 of Mr. Gib- 
son's book, ''The Year of Grace." 

Testimonies Collected by Rev. S. H. Platt. In a 
previous chapter an account has been given of the 
manner in which, through prayer and faith, Mr. Platt 



FRAYEE TO OVEECOME PHYSICAL HABIT. 



303 



was cured of dironic lameness. He has given great 
attention to tlie subject of tlie present chapter, and 
has collected the evidence of the efficacy of prayer in 
this respect into a little treatise entitled, " The Power 
of Grace,'^ to the careful perusal of which the unbe- 
lieving reader is recommended. A mere sketch of 
some of the cases detailed by him is all that can here 
be given. The accounts were received by him in reply 
to the following question, published in The Christian 
Advocate a/ad Journal^ of July 31st, 1873: "Can 
men be instantaneously delivered from the power of 
acquired habits, such as the use of tobacco, rum, etc., 
so that they shall thereafter have no craving for the 
indulgence? " 

A minister testifies that, for more than thirty years, 
he had been a habitual smoker, and had at various 
times attempted to abandon the practice, but each 
time yielded to the craving of his appetite, and 
" became a more inveterate smoker than before." 
But more earnest endeavors to be wholly the Lord's, 
brought up the question afresh, and he laid the pipe 
aside, relying simply on his appeal to God to deliver 
him. He says: "I trusted in the Lord, and not one 
word of his precious promises has failed me. I have 
had no craving, no uneasiness, no desire." At the 
end of a year he writes: "I am filled with wonder, 
for I expected a terrible fight with an appetite 
strengthened by an indulgence of about thirty-five 
years; but the enemy has not showed his head. Not 
only has the desire for smoking been eflfectually 



304: PKATER AND ITS EEMARKABLE ANSWEES. 

sqiielclied, but a perfect hatred of smoking has been 
developed, on account of the offensiveness of the odor 
of tobacco. Thanks be unto God, who giveth us the 
victory! " 

Another minister states: " I had used tobacco from 
childhood, and the love and use thereof grew upon 
me. I became convicted of its sinfulness, went to 
God and said, ' Destroy the appetite, or give me power 
over it. Save me, that I may glorify thee as a God 
of power for our present sins, and I will glorify thee 
evermore.' I wrote out the contract, and signed it, 
and from that blessed afternoon until to-day have no 
recollection of ever desiring it even." 

The President of a Young Men's Christian Associ- 
ation in Yermont, who had been greatly troubled by 
his tobacco habit, and "had tried a number of times 
to leave it oif, but could not do so," says: " One niglit, 
as I was retiring to rest, I thought I would kneel by 
my bed, and ask him, who never refuses to answer 
prayer, to take from me the desire for tobacco; and 
from that moment it has been impossible for me to 
use it." 

An editor in Tennessee, who was in this tobacco 
bondage, says: "I determined, time and again, to 
desist from it, sometimes abstaining for a few months, 
or weeks — once for twelve months — but the desire 
for it never left me. ^ ^ ^ One Sunday morning, 
the first day of December, 1850, 1 retired to a secluded 
place, got down upon my knees, and asked the Lord 
to help ^ne quit it, determining, then and there, that I 



PEAYEE TO OYEECOME PHYSICAL HABIT. 305 

would, G-od being my helper, never touch the accursed 
thing again by any kind of use in the way of con- 
sumption; and from that day to this I have never had 
any desire to smoke or chew tobacco, or to use it in 
any way. But 1 did this, whenever I saw tobacco: I 
lifted my heart to God, imploring his assistance in 
abstaining from it. I have now been clear of the 
desire of it for nearly twenty-three years." 

A man forty-two years old narrates how, from his 
youth up, he was addicted to tobacco and, also, to 
liquor, and became a confirmed drunkard. A minis- 
ter held a prayer meeting at his house, and said that 
religion could cure all evil habits. He says: "The 
next morning I took out my tobacco, to take a chew, 
and thought of what the minister had said, the night 
before. It was a new idea to me. I put the tobacco 
in my pocket again, and said, ' I'll try it.' I was 
alone in my barn. I kneeled down and asked God 
to remove the appetite from me. It was done. Glory 
to God! I was cured. I felt it; I knew it then; I 
have never had a desire for it since ; there has been 
no hankering for it, or for strong drink, since. My 
sins were all forgiven, and I was made a new man all 
over — inside and outside." 

Another man, who had been under the same double 
bondage, says: " I felt my weakness, and called on my 
Heavenly Father, and told him the work was too great 
for me, and prayed that he would do the work for me, 
and take away the taste, or appetite. ^ ^ He 
heard my prayer. I never have had a taste or desire 
13^ 



306 PEATEK AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

for a glass of intoxicating drink, or a smoke or chew 
of tobacco, from that time until the present moment, 
which is nineteen years, the seventh of last February, 
[1873]." 

It is because these specific deliverances have been 
experienced, as well as those of a more general char- 
acter, that the saint can sing with emphasis the familiar 
stanzas of Charles Wesley: 

Thou, O Christ, art all I want; 

More than all in thee I find ; 
Kaise the fallen, cheer the faint, 

Heal the sick, and lead the blind. 
Just and holy is thy name ; 

I am all unrighteousness ; 
Yile and full of sin I am. 

Thou art full of truth and grace. 

Plenteous grace with thee is found, 

Grace to i3ardon all my sin ; 
Let the healing streams abound; 

Make and keep me pure within. 
Thou of life the fountain art, 

Freely let me take of thee ; 
Spring thou up within my heart; 

Rise to all eternity. 



CHAPTER XYI. 

PRAYER FOR INDIVIDUAL CONVERSION. 

Theologically it is a startling fact, that the Bible 
uses language which implies that one man may 
convert another. Thus James v^rites (v: 19-20): 
" Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and 
one convert him, let him know that he who converteth 
the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul 
from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." But 
if this language startles us, when we think of the 
thoroughness of human depravity, and the necessity 
of regeneration by the Holy Spirit, the case is won- 
derfully relieved, as we notice that the words just 
quoted from James immediately follow six verses 
which assure us of the efficacy of fervent prayer. 
This fact may warrant us in supposing, that the " con- 
verting" power is largely connected with the privilege 
which the Christian has of securing a divine co-opera- 
tion with his labors. " For we are laborers together 
with God," said Paul, 1 Cor. iii: 9. And so the facts 
prove. 

A Bible Class of Young Ladies. The author 
knows of a theological student, who in a Presbyte- 
rian church in New York city, took charge of a Bible 
class of about forty young ladies, with scarcely a 

(307) 



308 PRATER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

professor of religion in it. He solemnly determined 
to seek the conversion of every member. His method 
was, in addition to a very faithful application of the 
lesson, on Sunday, and personal religious conversa- 
tion, from time to time, with each at her home — to 
make every scholar a subject of special prayer, by 
name, in his closet. Usually he took np the cases, 
one or two at a time, and prayed and labored for their 
immediate conversion. Sometimes he was enabled, 
before going to the house, for conversation, to gain an 
assurance in prayer, that that soul would then submit; 
and such was the fact. The conversations were almost 
always closed with prayer, in which he previously 
urged the young lady silently to unite, and make her 
consecration to God. As the result of three or four 
years labor, nearly every member of that class was 
converted, and seldom did a communion -seas on occur, 
in that church, without additions from that class. 
There was but one of those who remained steadily in 
the class, who continued obdurate; and she set her 
will with great firmness against conversion, and 
seemed insensible to all appeals; though more labor 
was expended on her than on any two or three others. 
"When, the student finished his studies, and entered 

the ministry, Harriet J was apparently farther 

from God than ever. He went elsewhere to live and 
labor, as a minister of Christ, and had no further 
opportunity to speak with her about her soul's sal- 
vation. But occasionally she would occur to his 
thoughts, and he would pray God to touch her heart. 



PEATEE FOE mDIVTDTJAL CONTEKSION. 309 



Time rolled on, and twentj-seven years had passed^ 
when he chanced to preach, one Sunday, in Brooklyn, 
his own residence being a thousand miles distant. At 
the close of the services, a middle aged la.dy stood at 
the foot of the pnlpit stairs, and as he came down, ac- 
costed him with the words : " Excuse me, but I used to 
be in your Bible class. Do you not remember Harriet 

J ? 1 am now Mrs. , and live in this city." 

Yes, indeed, he remembered her; how could he forget 
one for and with whom he had pleaded so often ? He 
seized her hand, and said: "Harriet, do you love the 
Lord Jesus Christ?" And, to his unutterable joy, 
she replied, " Yes, I trust I do." His prayers, after 
all, had been heard, and the one notable exception had 
ceased to be such. 

An Illustration by Professor Austin Phelps, D. D. 
In a communication to The Advance^ January 28, 1875, 
Prof. Phelps — whose charming little book on "The 
Still Hour," many lovers of prayer have read with 
spiritual profit and delight — gives account of an in- 
stance of success in prayer which is quite striking. 
This is the statement somewhat abridged: 

A certain man was of Christian parentage, the son 
of an exceptionally devoted mother. He acquired an 
appetite for strong drink, from using it medically, 
became intemperate, abandoned his Christian hope 
and faith, and, to human judgment, was utterly aban- 
doned of God. For twenty years, his few Christian 
friends prayed for him, against all probabilities, and 
hoped against all evidences. A heavy affliction hav- 



310 TKAYEE AND ITS EEMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

ing befallen liim, in conseqnence of his intemperate 
life, these friends hoped that it might be made the 
occasion of his deliverance. They asked for him the 
prayers of a company of Christian ladies, entire 
strangers to him. To this day he is unknown to them, 
in name or person. He lived three hundred miles 
distant from them. His history was detailed to them, 
and they resolved to concentrate prayer upon him, for 
a time, and see what God would do. They prayed 
specifically for his moral reform, for the revival of his 
Christian faith, for his conversion as a child of the 
covenant. They persisted in prayer; agreeing that 
each one should bear him on her heart, in secret com- 
munion with God. Among these ladies were some 
who have had a remarkable experience of success in 
intercessory prayer. 

The result is soon told. At about the time when 
his case was first named to that praying circle, with no 
knowledge on his part that they were interested in 
him, he suddenly dropped the use of intoxicating 
drink; and from that hour he has been absolutely free 
from the alcoholic craving. Within a week, the cavils 
at religious doctrines ceased. Then his prejudices 
against Christian usages and people gave way. The 
coat of mail, which he had worn for twenty years, 
dropped from him, and his heart lay bare to the power 
of truth and of the Holy Spirit. His childhood's 
faith returned to him, freighted with the teachings, 
the songs, and the prayers of a sainted mother. Then 
followed a period of profound despair. " I^o other 



PEAYER FOR INDIVIDUAL CONVERSION. 311 



sinner," said he, can have sinned so damnably, as I 
have sinned. 'No hell can be worse than I endure. 
Oh, that I could sleep, and never wake again "! For 
ten days or more, this despair continued, prayer being 
made for him without ceasing. He seemed unable to 
pray for himself. He begged like a child to be taught 
how to pray. His locked lips were like a premonition 
of the retributive speechlessness of guilt at the day 
of judgment. At length a change occurred, which 
may be described in a letter which he wrote to the 
Christian who, unknown to him, had acguainted the 
praying circle with his case: 

" I do not know that I can express intelligibly to 
you, the state of my mind; but most of the time, my 
soul is filled with what seems to me the joy of heaven. 
My room appears as if filled with angels. With rev- 
erence I say it, Christ seems to be with me. God 
seems to look upon me with a forgiving face. Last 
night, I could not sleep, but sat all night by the fire. 
My mind was full of the mercy Of God, and tlie glo- 
rious goodness of Christ. I experienced such fullness 
of joy, as I never dreamed of before. When daylight 
came, I was astonished at the shortness of the night. 
I am not conscious of any excitement in it all. It is 
all peace, perfect peace. I am unable to feel any desire 
for prolonged life. I feel perfect trust in God. I 
would leave all that concerns me with him. ^ 
I feel that time alone can determine whether my heart 
is changed. My daily life must show it. Yet I feel 
like exclaiming : Father, I thank thee for this mercy 



312 PEATEE Am) rrs eemaekable answers. 

to the worst of sinners ! Then I ask m jself, is it right 
for snch a sinner as I to take so mnch delight in 
praj^er ? " 

Prof. Phelps well asks, in conclusion : " Granting 
the fact of a diseased body, of a brain nnnaturally 
excited by the sudden withdrawal of alcoholic stimulus 
[which, it seems to the author should depress, and not 
excite], and making large allowance for other pecu- 
liarities of physical constitution and condition, is this 
not, after all, a clear case of the saving mercy of God 
in accentinffihQ physical conditions as they are, and 
using them in the conversion of the soul? And is it 
not as clear a case of answer to prayer, long deferred, 
and give at last to a reinforcement of the power of 
prayer, trustfully sought and importunately applied? 
Does it not confirm the faith of a believing spirit in 
the truth that concerted prayer is prayer intensified, 
as truly as any other form of concerted action.?" 

Exi'EKiENCE OF Cathaeike Adoena. Wq go back 
four centuries, to Genoa, in Italy, and there we find 
the pious Catharine Adorna, visiting and praying with 
the sick, in the Hospital and in private houses. A 
wife came to her, one day, and induced her to go to 
her house, and see her sick husband, who was likely 
ta die, but had no interest in the subject of religion. 
She went, and talked with him, and left. On the way 
back, she and the wife stepped into a church, sought a 
retired place, and earnestly prayed for his conversion. 
When the wife returned home, she was astonished to 
find a great change in her husband's mind, and to hear 



PKAYER FOR INDIVIDUAL CONVERSION. 313 

Mm speak like a Christian. The next day, she hastened 
to carry the news to Catharine Adorna; but, says her 
biographer, Dr. Upham : " The news was not surpris- 
ing to her. She had prayed earnestly for the sick man, 
and she had reason to believe that her prayer either 
had been or would be speedily answered. This belief 
was founded upon the fact, that, in offering up her 
supplications for him, she had found herself inwardly 
and specially drawn by the influences of the Holy 
Spirit. It seems to have been her practice, in what 
may be called her special supplications, not to move 
by her own choice, by the self-originated impulse of 
her own volition ; but to keep her soul in the attitude 
of humble and quiet waiting, that it might first be 
moved by the Holy Ghost. And when she prayed to 
God, under the influence of this specific divine ope- 
ration, her faith could generally see the result in the 
petition itself. And this was the case, in the present 
instance." It is interesting, as showing the far- 
reaching effect of the prayer thus offered, that the 
wife was so impressed by the result, that when her 
husband died, she attached herself to Catharine Adorna, 
in her labors of mercy, became her constant companion, 
and was with her at the hour of death. 

The Conversion of an Infidel. In the " Incidents 
in a Pastors' Life," Rev. William Wisner, D. D., 
gives an account of which the following is an abridge- 
ment: 

A skeptical young man was induced, during a revi- 
val, to accompany a lady, with whom he boarded, to 



314 PRAYER AKD ITS REMARK ABLE ANSWERS. 



an evening lecture; but he purposely diverted his 
thoughts from any attention to what w^as said. On 
their return, the lady and a pious young woman left 
him in the parlor, and retired to their own rooms, in 
a distant part of the house, to pray for his salvation. 
While on their knees, pleading in his behalf, they were 
alarmed by a cry from the parlor. Repairing thither, 
they found the family Bible open on the table, and the 
young man standing near, with marks of agony on his 
face. When they inquired what the matter w^as, he 
was about, in pride (as he afterwards said) to reply, 
" E'othing; " but before the words passed his lips, he 
was so overcome with anguish, that he exclaimed, 
" Oh, I am an infidel; pray for me," and fell prostrate 
on the floor. About midnight, he requested that some 
of his comipanions of the legal profession might be 
sent for, that seeing his remorse they might take warn- 
ing. At two o'clock, in the morning. Dr. Wisner was 
called from his bed, to talk and pray with him; and 
found him on his knees, not praying, but giving vent 
to his anguish, and saying, " I am an infidel ! I have 
denied my Savior, and am now given up of God, to 
eat of the fruit of my own doing." The next evening, 
there was a meeting for inquiry, and among others 
came the despairing young lawyer, supported by two 
friends. He received further gospel instruction, but 
only said: "These provisions w^ere once for me, but I 
liave rejected them. I have sinned away my day of 
grace." But after returning home, about eleven 
o'clock, he submitted himself unconditionally to God, 



PEAYEE FOE INDIVIDUAL CONVERSION. 315 

whiclij lie said, lie had before been unwilling to do. 
Then his soul embraced Christ and he was filled with 
peace and joy. At the time Dr. "Wisner wrote the 
narrative, he had been a pillar in the church for 
twenty-four years, and an officer of it for more than 
fifteen. Thus we may see that the most desperate cases 
yield to prayer. 

A Peompt Answee. Dr. Wisner also makes this 
statement, with reference to his accepting an invita- 
tion from a neighboring pastor to come and assist in 
some special meetings : " I took one of my elders with 
me, and went to the house of my brother, agreeably to 
his request. He had made an appointment for me 
to preach that evening. The congregation was large 
and solemn, and there were some indications of the 
special presence of the Holy Spirit. That evening, 
my elder led our devotions in family prayer, and 
poured out his soul in great fervency for the conver- 
sion of sinners. He earnestly besought the Lord, that 
he would so trouble the impenitent that they would 
feel constrained to awaken us in the night, to inquire 
what they should do to be saved. After prayer we 
retired to rest; but about midnight the pastor came 
into our room, and awoke us, to tell us that a number 
of sinners had collected at the Academy, who were so 
distressed with a sense of their lost condition, that 
they had sent a request for us to visit them. On 
repairing to the place, the pastor and my elder (for I 
was not well enough to go out at that hour,) found the 
principal of the Academy, with a large number of the 



316 PKAYEK AKD ITS EEMAKKABLE A^'SWEES. 

scholars and some other persons assembled to inqnire 
what they must do to be saved. The next morning 
there were a number rejoicing in hope, and many more 
deeply bowed down under a sense of their sins. We 
remained there a few days, and had the pleasure of 
seeing many proud hearts apparently humbled at the 
foot of the cross. It was the Lord, who taught my 
brother thus to pray; and it Vv^as the Lord who an- 
swered that prayer by giving us the very thing prayed 
for. If Christians lived in habits of communion with 
God, would not his Spirit more frequently teach us 
what to pray for, and more frequently give us the very 
blessings which we ask ? " 

CoNVEKSiON OF A HusBAXD. In that exquisite vol- 
ume, entitled My Mother ; or Recollections of Mater- 
nal Influence," published anonymously, but ascribed 
to a well known pen, is a touching account of the man- 
ner in which the husband and father was brought to 
God. He had for years been the object of the relig- 
ious solicitude of his wife, and finally as his case 
became more discouraging than ever, in a seeming 
moral apathy, the mother proposed to her children, at 
home and abroad, to meet with her at the throne of 
grace in his behalf, at a certain hour of the day. The 
account continues: "Whatever may have been the 
mental state of him who was the object of our concert, 
there was a growing feeling of intensity in our mother. 
Her spirit had no rest. After they had retired, one 
night, she said a few words expressive of her concern 
for him ; he gave her an indifferent answer, and fell 



PEAYER FOE INDIVIDTJAL COI^TEESION. 317 



asleep. She arose, in the fullness of an anxious heart, 
and returned to the sitting-room, raked open a bed of 
coals, and spent the night in prayer. It was cold, 
being the latter part of February. Behold the differ- 
ence between the believer and the unbeliever: the one 
sleeps over his own impending ruin ; the other wakes, 
and wrestles for him, in agonizing prayer. 

" As the day dawned, she fell into a train of reflec- 
tions like the following: 'I have borne this burden 
forty years; I can carry it no further; it is too heavy 
for me; I must roll it off on God. I feel that I have 
done. / cannot convert his heart. I canH convert, 
however much I distress myself. Perhaps I have 
sinned in distressing myself as I have. God may have 
seen in me the want of a simple reliance on him; or 
the want of true and absolute submission to his will. 
He may have seen me unwilling, or afraid to commit 
the matter of my husband's salvation entirely to him. 
But I feel that I must^ and do tlius commit it to him 
now. I will afiiict myself no more. I shall still pray 
for him, and use such means as may seem advisable, 
but — saved or lost — I leave the result with God.' 

* She was conscious of a simplicity of trust, 
now, and a relief of mind such as on that subject she 
had never felt before. So prayed and found relief, the 
wife of Elkanah. In the morning, after breakfast, 
finding him alone, she said a few words to him, to this 
effect. She remarked, that they had lived together 
above forty years ; that their union had been an affec- 
tionate and happy one, and it was painful to think, 



318 PEAYES AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 



tliat tliey were soon to be separated ^vitliout any pros- 
pect of ever being reunited. ^ ^ ^ ^ And now I 
have this one request to make: devote this day to the 
concerns of the soul; devote it to reflection and to 
prayer. If yoii cannot do it for your own sake, do it 
to oblige me ! ' Struck with her earnest manner, he 
said, decisively, ' / will.^ He was ' not able to resist 
the wisdom and the spirit by which she spake.' 

" She sa.w no more of him till quite night, when he 
came in and sat down, sad and thoughtful, by the fire. 
She did not know the nature of his feelings; nor was 
any allusion made to the interview of the morning. 
It was evident that he was not happy. He had an eye 
more expressive of sorrow than any eye I ever saw. 
It glistened, but did not flow with tears, and its color 
seemed to deepen. Sorrow was in him a sealed fo\m- 
tain : it found no vent in words. The next day he 
again disappeared, and was gone till evening. His 
countenance and manner, when he returned, were still 
thoughtful; but there wp.s a serenity in his look, which 
was not tlier^ before. ' I do not know,' said he to my 
mother, 'what has ailed me to-day; my feelings have 
been unusual,' and, indeed very strange.' ' Why, how 
have you felt,' she asked. ' I can hardly tell you,' he re- 
plied: 'I have no reason to think myself a Christian, 
or, perhaps, that T ever shall be; but it has seemed to 
me, this afternoon, as if everything was changed. 
Everything appeared to speak of God. The trees, the 
hills, the skies — everything, seemed to praise him. 
And I felt that I loved everybody. If there is any- 



PEAYEE FOE INDIVIDUAL CONVEESION. 319 



one tliat I have liated, it is Mr. G. (a certain revivalist, 
the particular tjpe of whose zeal, or whose tactics had 
disgusted him); but I have felt to-day that I loved 
him like a brother.' 

"It was afterwards known, that he spent the former 
of those two days in a retired valley on his farm, and 
the other in a wood. He had engaged to spend one 
day in retirement. That he might have appeared to 
do, merely to fulfill a promise. The second day was 
eminently probationary and eminently critical. ^ 
On the following morning, the minister of the place 
happened to call. He knew nothing of my father's 
state of mind. * -^^ * They had a long conversa- 
tion, and, on leaving the house, the minister said to 
the first Christian he met, ' I have great news to tell 

you; Mr. has become a new man. I have just 

come from conversing with him, and have no doubt 
of the reality of his conversion to Christ. The change 
in him is sui-prising; he is indeed a perfect child in 
religion.' After suitable delay and self-ex- 

amination, he made a public profession of his faith, 
receiving baptism in connection with that act. ^ * -^^ 
My father lived ten years, to test the genuiness of his 
faith. He died at the age of seventy-five." 

The Effect of Habitual Psayee. The steady 
occurrence of conversions in connection with habitual 
labor and prayer is well illustrated by the facts men- 
tioned in the biography of E'ormand Smith, Jr., of 
Hartford, Ct., in which we read: 

"The means he used to impress the minds of those 



320 PKAYES AND ITS EEMARKABLE ANSWEKS. 

who from time to time came into his family were va- 
rious: sometimes he would converse with them separ- 
ately; at others, he would address them together; but 
depended most of all upon the presentation of truth 
in family worship, and the daily exhibition of a Chris- 
tian example, together with a manifest tender concern 
for their salvation. He has been known to sit up half 
the night in prayer for a member of his family, whose 
mind he knew was impressed on the subject of religion. 
On his dying bed, nearly the last words he said to his 
brother, engaged with him in business, were. Take 
good care of the hoys! He felt the same benevolent 
concern for the domestics of the family; and it is an 
interesting fact, that all who resided in the family, in 
this capacity, during the last four years of his life, 
hopefully became Christians. One of the number 
thus converted, heard him one morning very early, 
before the family had risen, earnestly at prayer. She 
listened, and found it was for herself. Her mind was 
impressed, and she sought and found the one thing 
needful. 

An IJnpeomising Case Selected. A ministerial 
brother tells of a highly- cultivated lady, the principal 
and founder of an important ladies' seminary, who, 
for some cause, began to doubt whether the Lord 
accepted her services in that institution. Feeling that 
her intent was simply to please him, and to build up 
a seminary that should combine learniug with religion, 
and should send forth Christian and educated women 
to benefit the world, she laid the matter before the 



PEAYEE FOE INDIVIDUAL CONVEESION. 321 

Lord in prayer. Feeling a desire to test the thing 
practically, and to see if the Lord would use her to 
secure the results upon which she had set her heart, 
she selected from among her pupils a most unpromis- 
ing person, upon whom to bring to bear any religious 
influence — perhaps the most difficult and trying case 
in the school — and she asked the Lord to give her 
that soul. It was an earnest asking, a pleading which 
felt that everything was at stake, and the prayer went 
up night and day. The young lady concerned knew 
nothing of this struggle, at the mercy seat, in her 
behalf; yet, in less than a week, she came of her own 
accord to the principal, inquiring the way of salva- 
tion, and soon was rejoicing in the Savior. Not only 
so, but, after a little, her mind became interested in 
the lost condition of her sisters in the heathen world, 
and she devoted herself to a missionary life. It is not 
amiss to add, that this auspicious result was not only 
a source of new hope to the self-denying principal, in 
her depressing labors, but was actually a fore-token of 
the kind of work which her institution was success- 
fully to do through the coming years. It has ever 
been a fountain-head of piety and missionary interest. 

Me. Finney's Peaying Acquaintance. In his lec- 
ture on "The Spirit of Prayer," Rev. Charles Gr. 
Finney says: "I was acquainted with an individual 
who used to keep a list of persons that he was espe- 
cially concerned for, and I have had the opportunity 
to know a multitude of persons for whom he became 
thus interested, who were immediately converted. I 



322 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

have seen him pray for persons on his list when he 
was literally in an agony for them; and have some- 
times known him call on some other person to help 
him pray for such-a-one. I have known his mind to 
fasten thus on an individual of hardened, abandoned 
character, and who could not be reached in any ordi- 
nary way. In a town in a north part of the State of 
'New York, where there was a revival, there was a cer- 
tain individual who was a most violent and outrageous 
opposer. He kept a tavern, and used to delight in 
swearing, at a desperate rate, whenever there were 
Christians within hearing, on purpose to hurt their 
feelings. He was so bad, that one man said he 
believed he should have to sell his place, or give it 
away, and move out of town, for he could not live near 
a man that swore so. This good man, that I was 
speaking of, was passing through the town, and heard 
of the case, and was very much grieved and distressed 
for the individual. He took him on his praying list. 
The case weighed on his mind, when he was asleep 
and when he was awake. He kept thinking about 
him, and praying for him, for days. And the first we 
knew of it, this nngodly man came into a meeting, 
and got up and confessed his sins, and poured out his 
soul. His bar-room immediately became the place 
where they held prayer-meetings." Probably this 
man of prayer was " Father l^ash," of whom mention 
was made in the chapter on the " Prayer of Faith," 
and whose success in supplication was noted through- 
out Central and Western ISTew York. 



PRAYER FOR INDIVIDUAL CONVERSION. 323 

Fact Communicated by Dr. Pond. In a letter from 
the venerable Enoch Pond, D. D., he sjDeaks of "a 
young man, a member of Amherst College, some 
thirty years ago. He was bright, social, amiable, not 
vicious, but pretty likely to be led astray. It was a 
time of special revival in the college, and the mother 
of this young man (who was a pious Christian woman) 
received a letter from one of her son's classmates, say- 
ing that several of the class had set apart the next 
week to unite in prayer for the conversion of her son. 
They asked that she would unite with them. She did 
so, I doubt not, with all her heart, and in about two 
weeks she had another letter, from the same hand 
which wrote the first, saying that her son was among 
the converts. He became an earnest Christian, and 
was a very successful teacher in Connecticut for many 
years. He is dead now, but died in hope of the glory 
of God. I was well acquainted with all the facts in 
this case, and with all the individuals concerned." 

Testumony from Eev. p. Hagler. Mr. Hagler is a 
Baptist minister at Duquoin, 111., and he writes to the 
author, as follows: "Last fall we commenced a pro- 
tracted meeting, which lasted seventeen days. When 
the meeting commenced, there were three or four of 
us covenanted that we would pray for the conversion 
of a certain skeptical man and his family. The result 
was, that, about the third day of the meeting, he came 
to church, but sat very near the door. But he soon 
became interested, and, the second time, he asked for 
the prayers of the church, and it was not long before 



324 PKAYEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWI:ES. 

all the family were enlisted. Before the meeting 
closed, himself, wife, and four of the children, were 
converted, baptized, and added to the church. He 
was a major in the army, in the late war, had been 
strongly inclined to infidelity, and, according to his 
own statement, had not been inside of a meeting-house 
for fifteen years. We all believe it was in answer to 
prayer." 

A Triple Success. A letter from Rev. James 
Aiken, D. D., of Haverhill, IsT. H. says: "I send you 
the following statement made to me by the late Rev. 
Yv^alter Harris, D. D., of Dunbarton, H. He said, 
that at a weekly prayer-meeting, held at his house and 
attended by three brethren, members of his church, it 
was suggested and agreed, that they should pray espe- 
cially for three jprominent men of the parish, that 
they might be converted to God. In accordance with 
this agreement, earnest prayer was offered for many 
weeks. ISTow for the result. These three men, thus 
prayed for, came successively, the same evening, to the 
parsonage, to inquire what they must do to be saved. 
They found their minister at home, and the brethren 
with him assembled for prayer. These anxious 
inquirers soon found peace in believing in Jesus. Of 
each of them it could be said, ' Behold, he prayeth! ' " 

A Father Converted. An aged widow, whose 
husband was a clergyman noted for his broad plans 
and useful efforts, but whose name is here omitted 
from deference to her modesty, writes as follows to the 
author: "I was conscious that my father, although a 



PKAYEE FOR INDIVIDUAL CONVERSION. 325 

very moral man, did not nnderstand the new birtli, 
and I often made liim a subject of prayer. When he 
was about sixty years old, I was residing about six 
hundred miles from home, and one Monday evening, 
I felt a strong desire to attend a ' Monthly Concert ' 
of prayer; but my children were small, and I found 
it inconvenient to leave them. I decided to spend 
what time I could, in my room, praying for the con- 
version of the world. The moment I entered my 
room, my father came before my mind, and I lost all 
sight of the rest of the world. With groans and tears 
I agonized on his behalf, till at length I cast him over 
upon Christ, and felt a perfect peace. The next day, 
I thought I must continue my effort, and I tried to 
pray again for my father; but, to my great surprise, 
I had nothing to say. I could not frame a prayer; a 
rebuke came over me, which greatly humbled me, that 
I should be teasing the Lord, after he had already 
answered my request. From this time I began to 
look for a letter announcing the conversion of my 
father. A letter came, and in my haste, I concluded 
not to read the introduction, but to look about the 
middle of the first page, where they would speak of 
father's conversion: and there it was, precisely as it 
lay in my mind! After communicating with my 
friends, I found that he had submitted the same 
evening upon which I had prayed for him." 

Men of the world may call this a mere coincidence; 
but sarely it bears marks of being something more; 
especially in the light of Scriptural doctrine. Can we 



326 PKATEK AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 



not see in it the work of the Holy Spirit, who inspires 
the very prayers which he is about to answer? 

On Missionary Ground. In the Congregatio7ialist, 
(August, 18T5,) Rev. Allen Hazen gives an account of 
the conversion of a learned Brahman, for whose case 
prayer had been specially oifered by the missionaries 
for many years; as he had been employed as an assist- 
ant in translation, and had been led to a high respect 
for the Christian religion. But he did not forsake his 
native faith, though he became eclectic in his views, 
and, while he worshiped at the heathen temples, would 
also, on passing a church building, raise his hands and 
say " Glory to Christ." He led of late years an 
ascetic life, ate but once a day, and spent much time 
in meditation, with his body in a painful position. 
Early in 1875, he was living far from his missionary 
acquaintances, was old, feeble, nearly blind, and suffer- 
ing intensely from rheumatism. Thinking that there 
could be no relief from the pain, he determined to kill 
himself, and was going up into the third story of the 
house to throw himself down, when the thought came 
to him : " I must not imitate Judas, in killing 
myself ? " He thought the suggestion came from 
Jesus, and he prayed to him for relief from the pain 
he was suffering, and vowed, that if the relief came, 
he would at once confess Christ, and profess his faith 
by baptism. His prayer was heard, and the relief 
came. True to his word, he went to the nearest mis- 
sionary station, and was baptized. All who know him 
express confidence in the reality of the change. Here 



PEAYER FOR INDIVIDUAL CONVEESION. 327 

was a double answer to prayer. The Braliman was 
cured in body and saved in soul, and not only bis 
prayer was beard, but tbe prayers were answered 
which had been offered for him by name, for many 
years, by the missionaries, who had watched his career 
with so much interest. Prayers are never lost, even 
when, as in this case, some of the petitioners have 
passed from earth, without seeing the desired event. 
In God's time and way the blessing is sure to come. 

A Female Skeptic Converted. Miss Lucy S. Drake 
has communicated to the author this striking illustra- 
tion of the effect of prayer in leading a soul out of 
utter unbelief. She writes as follows: 

"While spending a few days in a seminary, among 
the young ladies who came to me for religious conver- 
sation was one of the senior class, who frankly stated 
her condition to be that of a skeptic, particularly as 
regarded Christ's divinity. She remarked that this 
had been growing with her, even through all the Bible 
lessons attended by her in the seminary. Still she 
told me, with much evident interest, that she had 
seen persons in whom she was convinced there was 
something — a power to be kept from sin — that she had 
not. 'They say it is a divine work; but I am skep- 
tical ; yet this one thing I know, I would be willing 
to do anything, to have what they possess.' ' Would 
you, indeed, be willing to do anything?' I asked. 
*Yes.' 'Will you stand by this assertion?' 'Yes.' 
Then I quietly but firmly said, ' There can be no diffi- 
culty; you will obtain; skepticism cannot prevent it.' 



328 PEAYEE AND ITS EEMAEKABTJE ANSWEES. 

She looked up surprised, and yet with hope; for previ- 
ously she had evidently regarded her skepticism as an 
insurpassable obstacle. I then remarked that God 
had said, ' Ye shall seek for me and find me, when 
ye shall search for me with all your heart.' It is his 
work to manifest himself to you; but it is yours to 
seek him with all your heart. You have a heart, 
and can put your interest fully into seeking him with 
all your heart. "Will you?' 'Yes,' she replied. I 
then said: 'We will kneel; I will pray first, and then 
you follow, and seek him.^ 'Oh, I cannot; I never 
prayed before any one, and then I do not believe.' 
'You said you would do anything; tell God all that is 
in your heart, your unbelief, and just what you want.' 
^ I will,' she firmly said. After praying myself, she 
commenced, and having told the Lord, that she did 
then seek him with her whole heart, she exclaimed, 
'I've found him! Christ is divine! He is divine! 
He is revealing himself to me. How could I have 
doubted him!' and tears of penitence and joy rolled 
over her face. From the testimony of others I have 
since learned that she has been, from that moment, a 
cheerful, devoted Christian, a possessor of that which 
she sought. 

" In religious work I have never known it fail, that 
God's promises have been fulfilled, no matter how 
great the difliculties, if the conditions he has laid 
doMTi so plainly are complied with by the suppliant. 
Personally, I have found that ' if ye have faith as a 
grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this moun- 



PEATEE FOE im)IVIDIJAL CONVEESION. 329 



tain, Eemove hence to yonder place, and it sliall 
remove, and nothing shall be impossible unto you.' " 
Mr. D. L. Moody and the Infidel. After the 
return of Mr. Moody from his labors in Great Britain, 
he went to Northfield, Mass., his native place, and in 
a meeting, there, gave this illustration of the power 
of prayer to reach the most unlikely cases of sin and 
unbelief. He is thus reported : " There is not a heart 
so hard that God cannot touch it. While we were 
gone, this time, an incident occurred that interested 
me very much. While in Edinburgh, a man was 
pointed out to me by a friend, who said; 'Moody, 
that man is chairman of the Edinburgh infidel club.' 
So I went and sat down beside him, and said: 'Well, 
my friend, I am glad to see you at this meeting. Are 
you not concerned about your welfare?' He said that 
he didn't believe in a hereafter. I said, 'Will you 
just get down on your knees and let me pray for you.' 
'I don't believe in prayer.' I tried unsuccessfully to 
get the man down on his knees, and finally knelt down 
beside him and prayed for him. Well he made a good 
deal of sport over it, and I met him again many times 
in Edinburgh after that. A year ago, last month, 
while in the north of Scotland, I met the man again. 
Placing my hand on his shoulder, I asked, * Hasn't 
God answered the prayer?' He replied: 'There is 
no God. I am just the same as I always have been. 
If you believe in a God, and in answers to prayer, do 
as I told you — try your hand on me.' 'Well,' I said, 
' God's time will come; there are a great many pray- 



330 PKATER AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

ing for yoTi, and I have faith to believe you are going 
to be blessed.' Six months ago, I was in Liverpool, 
and there I got a letter from the leading barrister of 
Edinburgh, telling me that my friend, the infidel, had 
come to Christ, and that of his club of thirty men, 
seventeen had followed his example. How it hap- 
pened, he could not say, but whereas he was once 
blind, now he could see. God had answered the 
prayer. I didn't know how it was to be answered, 
but I believed it would be, and it was done. What 
we want to do is, to come boldly to God." 

Peayee Opens a House. Rev. J. Boyes relates this 
incident in the Wesleyan, on the authority of the 
missionary concerned. There was a town-missionary 
who greatly desired to gain access to a lodging-house, 
which was of such a low and dangerous character as 
to make it hazardous to life to enter. He prayed over 
the matter, and finally concluded to risk the conse- 
quences. He knocked, and after some rough language 
addressed to him, was allowed to enter. He found a 
villainous-looking man within, who, learning his char- 
acter and religious object, said : " I v/ill ask you a 
question out of the Bible. If you answer me right, 
you may call at this house, and read and pray with 
us or our lodgers, as often as you like: if you do not 
answer me right, we will tear jour clothes from your 
back, and tumble you neck and heels into the street." 
The missionary quietly said, " I will take you." " Well 
then: is the word girl in the Bible; if so where, and 
how often?" The missionary replied: "The word girl 



PEAYEE FOE INDIVIDUAL CONVEESION. 331 

is in the Bible; but only once, and may be found in 
the prophecy of Joel, chapter iii., verse 3: 'And sold 
a girl for wine, that they might drink.'" ''Well," 
said the man, ''I am dead beat; I durst bet five 
pounds, you could not have told." "And I could 
not have tpld, yesterday. For several days I have 
been praying that the Lord would open me a way 
into this house; and this very morning, when reading 
the Scripture to my family, I was surprised to find 
the word girl^ and got the Concordance, to see if it 
occurred again, and found that it did not. God knows 
what will come to pass, and his hand is in this for my 
protection and your good." The result was, that the 
inmates came under religious influences, and the man, 
his wife and two of the lodgers were converted. 

How AN Empeeoe was Converted. The following 
facts are taken from the journal of Stephen Grellet, a 
member of the Society of Friends, who, with William 
Allen, visited Eussia on a spiritual mission, and 
received the account from Prince Galatzin himself. 
"When E'apoleon's army entered Moscow, a panic 
seized St. Petersburg. But amid the universal alarm 
Prince Galatzin remained so calm, that the Emperor, 
Alexander I., inquired the reason. The Prince drew 
from his pocket a Bible, a book of which the Emperor 
was quite ignorant, and was handing it to the Em- 
peror, when it dropped open on the floor. Paising it, 
and glancing at the open page, he said, Permit me 
to read this very passage, from the ninety-first Psalm : 
'He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most 



332 PEAYER AND ITS EEJVIAEKABLE ANSWEES. 

High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.' 
Oh, that your Majesty would seek this retreat!" The 
Emperor stood astonished, and then went to the great 
church for public worship, as was customary, when- 
ever he left the city for some time. Strange to say, 
the officiating priest read the same psalm. When 
sent for, after the service, and asked if Galatzin had 
told of the interview, the priest said he knew nothing 
of it; but that he had desired in prayer that the Lord 
would direct him to the particular portion of the 
inspired volume he should read, to encourage the 
Emperor; and that he judged that that psalm was 
the word of the Lord to him. The Emperor pro- 
ceeded on his w^ay, for some distance, and late in the 
evening, sent for his chaplain to read the Bible to 
him, in his tent, as he felt great seriousness of mind. 
The chaplain came, and began to read: "He that 
dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall 
abide under the shadow of the Almighty." " Hold," 
said the Emperor; " who told you to read that? " Has 
Galatzin told you?" "]^o; but surprised at your 
sending for me, I fell upon my knees before God, and 
besought him to teach my weak lips what to speak. 
I felt that part of the holy word to be clearly pointed 
out to me. Why has your majesty interrupted me? " 
The Emperor was astonished, listened attentively, and 
from that time concluded to read privately a chapter 
in the Bible, morning and evenin^r. He took Prince 
Galatzin's Bible, and, to use his own language, " I 
devoured it, finding in it words so suitable to and 



PKAYER FOR INDIVIDUAI. CONVEESION. 333 

descriptive of the state of my mind. The Lord, by 
his divine Spirit, was also pleased to give me an 
understanding of what I read therein. It is to this 
inward teacher alone that I am indebted." Messrs. 
Grellet and Allen fonnd him ready to converse on 
spiritual subjects, and in repeated interviews he knelt 
with those two simple-hearted Friends, and joined in 
their fervent prayers. 

The Conversion of several Children. Mrs. C. S. 
Whitney, wdiose interesting experience of healing, in 
answer to prayer, has been given in a previous chap- 
ter, says further: "In regard to the conversion of 
souls, many times prayer has been answered imme- 
diately. At one time, in a little prayer meeting, a 
desire was given me for the speedy conversion of sev- 
eral children present. After some conversation and 
prayer, we agreed that, each in our own home, the 
next morning, at nine o'clock, should ask God to bless 
and save. At our next meeting, ten of the children 
gave evidence of a change of heart; which had occur- 
red at that very hour." 

A Sister's Prayers and Waiting. Miss Shipton, 
from whose " Secret of the Lord " a fact was quoted in 
a previous chapter, gives, also, this item of her expe- 
rience : " One day, I was in great sorrow over the 
backsliding of a dear brother. I felt as if Satan 
stood by, to resist every effort I made to help this 
wanderer. During a night of special prayer, and 
many tears, the word came to my mind, ' If thou 
wouldst believe, thou shouldst see the glory of God.' 



334 PEAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

I took my Bible, to comfort my heart with. God's 
blessed promises, and I opened at Joim xi: 23: 'Thy 
brother shall rise again.' ' Said I not nnto thee, if 
thou wouldst helievef Blessed promise! I did 
believe; but it was not an abiding belief. I looked 
on the waves of circumstance, and not on him who 
ruled them. All without was dark, and I, more sad- 
heptrted and dispirited, listened to the tempter's voice, 
'Hath God said?' I sat in the garden, praying to 
the gracious Comforter to comfort me, and to deliver 
his wandering child. As I prayed, I received strength 
to take God at his word. My eye was attracted to a 
spider's web, on a rose tree near me, in the sunlight. 
A poor fly was caught in the mesh; the more it strug- 
gled, the deeper it was entangled. I felt fascinated, so 
that I could not withdraw my eyes. The great black 
spider, in ambush, was ready to destroy his victim. 
All hope seemed over, when a blast of wind rent the 
prison in twain, and the bright-winged captive flew by 
me in freedom. Then I praised the Lord. Six long- 
years of w^aiting, with the promise given me often 
conned, and the picture of the broken w^eb often before 
me, when, lo! the stone was rolled away, and he that 
was dead came forth. My Father! I thank thee that 
thou hast heard me. A day or two after this blessed 
assurance of life was given me, I received a letter from 
a Christian friend, and she gave me for my portion — 
'Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldst believe, 
thou shouldst see the glory of God ? ' I did not apply 
it at once, yet the words deeply impressed my heart. 



PEAYEE FOE INDIVIDUAL CONTEESION. 335 



But, in the niglit-watch, the words came again, and I 
was led back, step bj step, tlirougli my hopeless unbe- 
lief, my cruel doubt of God's faithfulness, my ready 
ear to the tempter's voice, the night of weeping, 
and the morning of hope, when, in a parable, the Lord 
wrought out his loving promise; and, in tears of joy 
and mingled shame at my own unfaithfulness, I again 
exclaimed, 'This God is my God, forever and ever. 
He shall be my guide even unto death.' " 

A Dreaded Duty and Saving Results. I^ormand 
Smith, Jr., of Hartford, Ct., was accustomed to take 
part of the apprentices, whom he had in his business, 
into his family, that he might v/atch over their moral 
and religious welfare. They were always present at 
family worship. He had occasion to leave home, for 
a week or ten days, and his wife, who had been search- 
ing her heart of late, and endeavoring to make a per- 
fect consecration of herself to the Lord, suddenly 
found this question raised in her mind: ''Are you 
willing to pray in your family during the absence of 
your husband?" She shrank from such a trial, for 
she was young, her disposition was retiring and timid, 
and the apprentices were from sixteen to twenty years 
of age. Her mental distress was great, but she wisely 
carried the matter before the Lord. Leaving all her 
household matters with her widowed mother, who 
resided with her, she gave up the day to prayer, from 
the morning hour, and it was not till late in the after- 
noon that, alone in her room with God, she felt that 



336 PEAYEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 

she had gained the victory, and was prepared for the 
dreaded duty. 

Then great peace came at once into her sonl, 
and she realized the privilege of presenting those 
young men to God in prayer. To use her own words, 
in a letter to the author: " In the morning worship, I 
only had to open my mouth, and God filled it. The 
room, and even the house, seemed so full of God, that 
it was impressed on my mind that God was willing to 
do a work in the family. So I invited Mr. Barrows 
(now Rev. Prof. E. P. Barrows, D. D.,) to call, at tea- 
time, and converse with the young men. He did so, 
and one of them gave his heart to God during the 
conversation; and, before the week was out, two others 
did the same, as did three of their companions in the 
next house. One of them soon began to prepare for 
the ministry, and is now a settled pastor." When 
her husband returned to the city, he did not follow his 
usual custom, of going first to the store, but came 
directly to the house. Mrs. S. said to him : " I am afraid 
you will not believe what has taken place in the family, 
during your absence, if I tell you." He replied: "I 
am prepared to believe anything ; for my mental exer- 
cises were such, while I was av/ay, that I knew that 
something had taken place, and I came directly to the 
house, without going to the store, that I might learn 
what had occurred." And this w^as the beginning of 
a precious revival of religion. 

It is needless to multiply these illustrations, as the 



FRATER FOE INDIVIDUAL CONYEESION. 33T 



^experience of earnest Christians given to labor and 
to- prayer, abounds in tbem. 

Christ stood in the light, which my eye could not see, 
But a bright ray passed down from his spirit to. me; 
Wherever I wandered, 'twas with me, and when 
I prayed for a soul, it shed light on it then. 
Though I did not see it, and went on in pain, 
Though the soul did not feel it, and knew not its gain, 
Still it never departed, 'twas fixed to the spot; 
I moved from the place, but it changed not. 
" I touch through thy hand," said the Savior to me, 
"And that which I touch shall never get free. 
My hold, though it be but impal]3able ray, 
Shall enlighten that soul till I usher in day. 
The day of salvation must come to the heart, 
Which has ever been touched; the lowliest part — 
E'en the hem of my garment — the humblest thing 
That belongs unto me, this great virtue doth bring. 
Art thou, then, a member, and dost thou not know 
That wherever thou goest, I surely there go ; 
That the work that thou doest is not solely thine own ? 
It is mine, and I never will leave it undone. 
Go, touch, then, the sinner — go whisper my word, 
Though thou canst not see me, I 'm there," saith the Lord. 

—Extracted from " The Two BreamiP 

15 



CHAPTEE XYII. 



PARENTAL PBATEB8. 

In every age the power of parental prayer has been 
signally illustrated. One might well expect this to be 
the fact, in view of the nature of the family-institution, 
its basal relation to church and state, the special cove- 
nants and promises made in the Bible to parental faith- 
fulness, and the design of prayer as part of God's 
moral system. But faith is strengthened by particu- 
lar historical instances, as well as by general consid- 
erations. Let us note some of them. 

Augustine and his Mother, Monica. The famous 
church-fatlier, Augustine, has immortalized the piety 
and faith of his mother Monica. He grew up, in 
Carthage, a young man of genius and of strong pas- 
sions. The latter led him into sensual excesses, and 
intellectual pride carried him into the heresy of the 
Manicheans. His mother, a devoted Christian, 
mourned with deepest grief over the sins and errors 
of her gifted son, and ceased not to pray for his con- 
version, day and night. Augustine alFectingly sets 
forth the facts in his penitential " Confessions," where 
lie says: "And thou sentest thy hand from above, 
and drewest my soul out of that profound darkness; 
my mother, thy faithful one, weeping to thee for me, 

(338) 



PAEENTAL PRAYEES. 



339 



more than mothers weep the bodily deaths of their 
children. For she, by that faith and spirit which she 
had from thee, discerned the death wherein I lay, and 
thou heardest her, O Lord; thou heardest her, and 
didst not despise her tears, which streaming down 
watered the ground under her eyes in every place where 
she prayed. ' Yea, thou heardest her; for whence was 
that dream whereby thou corafortedst her?" The 
dream was a vision of her son symbolically represented 
as coming to the same position of faith and life as her- 
self. 

Years passed, however, during which his case seemed 
to be desperate; for he writes: "Almost nine years 
passed, in which I wallowed in the mire of that deep 
pit and the darkness of falsehood, oft essaying to rise, 
but dashed down the more grievously. All which 
time, that chaste, "godly and sober widow (such as thou 
lovest), now cheered with hope, yet no whit relaxing 
in her weeping and mourning, ceased not at all hours 
of her devotion to bewail my case unto thee." His 
mother besought a bishop to argue with him ; but the 
bishop saw that he was too opinionated and puffed up, 
to be won in that way, and therefore said to Monica: 
" Let him alone awhile ; only pray God for him ; he 
will of himself, by reading, find out what that error is, 
and how great its impiety." And when she still urged 
her point, he said: " Go thy ways, and God bless thee; 
for it is not possible that the son of these tears should 
perish." Which answer, Augustine says, she took as 
if it had sounded from heaven. 



34:0 PEATEE AND ITS EEMAiSKA:BLE ANSWEES. 



But now came a trial of lier faitli, and also an illus- 
tration of the unexpected ways in wMcli God answers 
prayer. For Augustine announced his intention to 
remove to Eome; of which he thus writes: " So why 
I went hence, and went thither, thou knowest, O God, 
yet showedst it neither to me, nor to my mother who 
grievously bewailed my journey, and followed me as 
far as the sea. ^ * And yet refusing to return 
without me, I scarcely persuaded her to stay that night 
in a place hard by our ship, where was an Oratory (a 
place- of prayer) in memory of the blessed Cyprian. 
That niglit, I privily departed; but she remained in 
weeping and prayer, with so many tears, but asking 
of thee that thou wouldst not suffer me to sail. ^ 
For she loved to have me with her, as all mothers do, 
but much more than most ; and she knew not how 
great joy thou wast about to work for her out of my 
absence." 

At Home, he taught rhetoric, and soon passed to 
Milan in the same profession, where he came into per- 
sonal friendship with the celebrated Ambrose, under 
whose preaching he was converted from Manichean 
error, after many internal struggles to overcome his 
evil habits. He was vvdth his friend Alypius, when 
the final decision was made, and they both joined in it. 
" Then," writes Augustine, " we went in to my mother 
[she had followed him to Milan] and told her, relating 
in order how it took place. Then did she leap for joy, 
and triumph, and bless thee, who art able to do more 
than we ask or think." May it not be well said, that 



PAEENTAL PEAYEES. 



341 



Monica had travailed in birth for her son, spiptually 
as well as physically? And what mother may not 
draw encouragement from her example to pray with 
faith for the conversion of children? And who can 
tell what honor God will put upon parental impor- 
tunity and perseverance? Monica's prayers saved 
Augustine, and Augustine's influence on the Chris- 
tian church has been scarcely second to that of any 
uninspired man ; for not only has he been (with some 
errors) authority for much that has been good in the 
Eomish church, but he impressed the minds of Luther, 
Melanchtlion, Calvin, Knox and other Protestant 
reformers more than did any other author. 

The Source of Parental Faith. Many, who are 
content with a superficial piety, and have no deep 
earnestness for the salvation of their children, cannot 
understand how it is that some parents have assured 
faith and put forth prevailing prayer. It is through 
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in truly consecrated 
souls, by reason of which they realize the, necessity of 
conversion, are filled with intense longings for the sal- 
vation of their children, and are enabled to plead with 
broad intelligence God's covenant and promises. Pev. 
C. G. Finney in his lecture on " The Spirit of Prayer " 
well remarks: "Thus it often happens, when profes- 
sors of religion are praying for their children. Some- 
times they pray, and are in darkness and doubt, feeling 
as if there were no foundation for faith, and no 
special promises for the children of believers. But 
while they have been pleading, God has shown them 



342 PEAYEE AKD ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 

the fu]l meaning of some promise, and tlieir soul lias 
rested on it, as on the mighty arm of God. I once 
heard of a widow who was greatly exercised about her 
children, till this passage was brought powerfully to 
her mind: 'Leave thy fatherless children with me, 
and I will preserve them alive.' She saw it had an 
extended meaning, and she was enabled to lay hold on 
it, as it were, with her hands, and then she prevailed 
in prayer, and her children were converted. The Holy 
Spirit was sent into the world by the Savior, to guide 
his people, and instruct them, and bring things to 
their remembrance, as well as to convince the world 
of sin." 

YiEw OF Kev. Howaed Ceosby, D. D., LL.D. A 
lady in 'New York City, who attended the " Annual 
Maternal Meeting," in February, 1864, made these 
notes of the remarks of Rev. Dr. Crosby, who addressed 
the mothers present. He said he believed the con- 
version of children rested in the hands of parents, and 
it was according to their faith. In dedicating our 
children to God, we were required to believe that God 
accepted them and would honor his covenant. Faith 
honored God, and if we clung to the covenant, even 
though we failed- in many particulars in training, our 
children would be saved. He knew two families in 
this city; was on intimate terms with them both. 
Each had brought up a large number of children, sur- 
rounding them with similar religious influences. In 
one family not a child was as yet converted ; in the 
other; every child had grown up to be strong in Christ. 



PAEENTAL PRAYERS. 



343 



In conversing with the mother of the first-named 
family, a few months since, on the subject of her 
children's salvation, he referred her to God's promises. 
She replied: * Oh yes; I know he has given these 
promises; hut there are so many exceptions!'^ 'Ah 
Madam,' said he, ' here is the secret of your children's 
condition out of Christ.' The father of the other 
family was once met in the street, walking with four 
little boys, by a friend, who said to him, ' When you 
look at those little ones, and think of their future, 
don't you feel anxious?' 'E"o,' replied the father, 'I 
hnow they will all be saved, and, besides this, I know 
they will all be converted in childhood.' And they 
were." 

Two Mothers. Harlan Page, writing to his parents 
of revival-incidents in 1831, said: "A case occurred 
last week of special encouragement to praying parents. 
At the close of the afternoon exercises, a meeting for 
religious inquirers was held in the lecture room, and 
a few professors, who lived at a distance, stayed in the 
church, till the evening service. Among them were 
two mothers who, though strangers to each other, 
agreed to go to a retired pew, and spend the season in 
prayer. As the question arose, what they should pray 
for, one said, ' I have a daughter, who has no hope.' 
The other replied, ' So have I an only daughter, and 
she is now in the inquiry-meeting, and we will pray 
for them.' They kneeled, and while they were still 
praying, one of the daughters came, found her mother^ 
and, Jfe soon as she could do it, without interrupting 



8M PEATEE AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

her, took lier by the hand, saying, ' O my mother, I 
hope I have found Christ to be precious.' They all 
knelt again in prayer, and offered their united thanks- 
giving to God. The other daughter was hopefully 
converted on the following day." 

A Son's Account. From Eev. C. B. Crane, D. D., 
pastor of the South Baptist Church, of Hartford, Ct., 
the author has received the following interesting 
account of the answer given to his father's prayers 
and faith: 

" In the spring of 1835, I entered Hamilton Col- 
lege, l^ew York, full of worldly ambition, but a 
strati ger to the grace of God. On a certain Sun- 
day, near the end of the term, though there was no 
special religious interest in the college, I was im- 
pressed so profoundly, by the love of Christ for 
sinners, that I at once devoted myself to his service. 
I promised not only to be his disciple, but, also, to 
give myself to the ministry of his word. Yet I had 
entered Hamilton College solely for the reason that, 
under Theodore Dwight, then at the head of its law 
school, I might qualify myself for the legal j^rofession. 
And it was to me the wonder of wonders, that I could 
so readily surrender what had been the purpose of my 
life, and consecrate myself to a work which I had well 
nigh abhorred. In thus readily changing the plan of 
my life, I was conscious of no struggle. I was borne 
onward as a vessel is impelled by the tide. 

"My father, a calm, well-balanced, and thoughtful 
man, was then pastor of the church in the neigtftoring 



PARENTAL PEAYEES. 



345 



village of Cassville. In reply to my letter announc- 
ing my purpose to live the Christian life, and to enter 
upon the Christian ministry, and my desire to unite 
myself with his church, on a baptismal profession of 
my faith, to my very great surprise, he expressed no 
surprise at all. For, as he afterwards related to me, a 
day or two before the eventful Sunday above men- 
tioned, as he was riding, alone, in the round of his 
pastoral calls, his whole soul was drawn out in prayer 
to God, that I might become a Christian man and a 
Christian minister. As he prayed, his desire rose to 
almost an agony of earnestness; when suddenly he 
gained the assurance that his prayer was granted. 
And he awaited m.y next letter in confident expecta- 
tion that its contents would be what they were. 

"Here is a case which, I am sure, will allow no 
rationalistic explanation. The 'nervous excitement' 
theory of revivals and conversion is not apposite. 
One man, so little given to fanaticism as to be almost 
cold-blooded, is praying, at a distance, for another man 
of a like temper. And the second man, in a college 
where the state of religion is unusually unpromising, 
obtains an experience which is the exact answer to the 
prayer." 

A Family Expeeience. Eev. A. S. Kedzie, of 
Dowagiac, Mich., furnishes a narrative of the steady 
influence of parental prayer through a series of years. 
Having described his father's prayerful character and 
household piety, as exhibited in the commencement 
of a new settlement in Michigan, he continues thus: 



346 PEAYER AND ITS EEMAHKABLE ANSWERS. 

" Two years after our settlement in Deerfield, my 
father died. His children then were all under sixteen 
years of age. For my mother to take his place, as 
the religions instructor of the family, was a great 
trial; but her husband's faith was in her, and she 
would not stand in the way of answers to her hus- 
band's prayers. Her timidity could not do this in the 
presence of the hired men ; so she detained the chil- 
dren after breakfast, and called them in before tea, 
and had family worship, in the absence of the hired 
men. So mother went on for a year. Then a ' four 
days' meeting ' was held at Ypsilanti. Mother took 
my oldest brotlier to the meeting, and the confident 
expectation of the family was, that he was to be con- 
verted. The case was stated, that a widow had brought 
her eldest son forty miles, to be converted. Prayer 
was offered in his and her behalf. When they 
returned, we did not dare ask James if he was a 
Christian; but we knew the question would be 
answered when the time came for family worship. 
After tea, mother brought out the old family Bible, 
and asked James to take his father's place, in conduct- 
ing family worship, which he promptly did. We 
younger boys preserved our gravity till the close, 
when we scud to the barn, and screamed with delight, 
chiefly from sympathy with our mother. 

" Other ' four days' meetings' were held at Monroe 
and elsewhere, and to these, one after another of the 
children went, with the same expectation on the part 
of the family, and with the same result. And our 



PAEENTAL PEAYEES. 



347 



motlier was spared in life, till slie found answer to her 
own and her husband's prayers, and to see her five 
sons and two daughters members of evangelical 
churches; three of the sons sustaining official rela- 
tions, one as a ruling elder in a Presbyterian Churchy 
one as a pastor in a Congregational Church, and one 
as a class-leader in a Methodist Church." 

To this narrative Mr. Kedzie appends this true 
remark: "Here is illustration of the commonest office 
and the largest work of prayer. Little provision is 
made to justify prayer to the skeptic, by frequent, 
startling, visible, and undeniable issue of prayer in 
answers, which, in silencing the skeptic, would foster 
fanaticism in our weak nature. Instead, in millions 
of hearts it keeps alive the sense of spiritual things 
lying back of sense. In prayer, these hearts ' seek 
right adjustment to those spiritual forces, and so it 
serves vaster interests than skepticism can compre- 
hend." 

Two MoTHEES. A quiet, steady faith, leading in 
the family to persistent and united prayer for spirit- 
ual results, receives a sure reward, as the following 
brief narative by Eev. Burdett Hart, of Fair Haven, 
Ct, proves: 

" Two mothers, the only Christians in their house- 
holds, most excellent ladies of strong faith and of effi- 
cient works, agreed to pray^ on a certain hour of each 
day, for their husbands and children, till they should 
le converted. They did so pray, and their lives har- 
monized ever with their prayers. One by one, their hus- 



348 PKAYEK AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

bands and children were all converted. Those hus- 
bands became efficient and esteemed officers (deacons) 
in their respective churches. One of the children 
became a minister of the gospel, and others were ac- 
tive and benevolent supporters of the cause of Christ. 
The mothers deemed that their prayers were an- 
swered." 

A. Pjraying- Father in Scotland. " The (London) 
Christian newspaper gives, on the authority of Eev. 
J. H. Wilson, of Edinburgh, an interesting account to 
the following purport: A pious girl in Edinburgh 
observed in the street, another girl, in charge of some 
children, who seemed sad; and she ventured to ask 
whether she was a Christian. " "Who bade you ask 
that? " was the reply. " The Lord bade me." " The 
Lord?" she said: have been praying that, if there 
is a God in heaven, he would send some one to speak 
to me about my souL" She explained that she was 
from Aberdeen, had accompanied her mistress to Edin- 
burgh on a visit, and had been deeply impressed by a 
sermon she had heard from Dr. Bonar. Maggie, who 
had spoken to her, not being very competent to in- 
struct, gave her at parting these words of Jesus : " Him 
that Cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out." Two 
days later she came to Maggie, to announce that she 
had "found Jesus;" and not long after brought her 
sister, when the three had a little prayer meeting, and 
the sister, too, went away rejoicing in hope." 

And what lay back of all this ? A father^ s prayers ! 
For Mao^o^ie soon received this letter : " Bear Miss 



PAEENTAL PKAYEES. 



349 



M ; You will perhaps think me rather forward in 

writing to jou, but I feel as if my heart would burst 
with gratitude for the kindness you have shown to my 
daughters, in being the means of leading them to the 
Savior. I have long prayed for them both, and when 
they left here to go to Edinburgh, I prayed that the 
good Lord would save them both, before they came 
back. He has heard my prayer. On the same day 
that you spoke to Mary, I was ill in bed; and as I 
prayed for them, I felt the preciousness of the text : 
' Him that cometh unto me, I will in no vvdse cast out.' 
You can, perhaps, fancy my joy, when by the next 
post, came a letter to tell me that Mary had found 
Jesus from that very text. Dear Miss M , I can- 
not thank you enough, but the Lord will reward you 
for the joy you have brought to an old father's heart. 
You will excuse the writing; I am well nigh seventy 
years old. I have only one thing to ask you; if you 
get a holiday in summer, come and see poor old Davie; 
you will be made as welcome as the angels in heaven. 
Mary says you are an orphan, but you will never want 
a friend, lass, as long as Davie Ferguson breathes the 
breath of life. And at the judgment you can take 
my Mary and Jane up to Jesus, and say, 'Here are 
two that, by the Spirit's help, I led to thee.' We all 
send our greatest love to you." 

Here was an instance of secret causation. To hu- 
man view, the events, in Edinburgh afforded by their 
connection a satisfactory explanation of the result 
reached. But a hidden cause lay back of them, known 



350 PEAYER AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEE3. 

to God, thongli unsuspected bj others. A sick father's 
earnest prayer was ascending in Aberdeen, while the 
child was being reached savingly in Edinburgh. 

A Mothee's CoNi^TDENCE. An instance of that 
assured expectation which sometimes supervenes 
upon long-continued, importunate supplication — 
w^hich is not the fruit of our volition, or of our 
voluntary faith, but is an impression born of the 
Spirit, apparently, as a prophecy of the coming bless- 
ing — was mentioned in the daily prayer meeting at 
Cincinnati, during the revival season of 185T-8. Mr. 
Shipley, the leader of the meeting, related the case of 
a mother who had prayed for her son, for many years. 
He grew up to maturity, went abroad, and had lately 
come back from an eastern city, where there had been 
a great revival, but without having been himself a 
subject of it. He told his mother of a number of 
persons who had been converted, but said nothing to 
her of himself. After he had retired, her soul being 
burdened with intense desire for his salvation, she 
took the Bible, approached his bedside, told him her 
feelings and the assurance she had that he would be 
convei^ted that night, read a chapter suited to the cir- 
cumstances, offered a prayer of intense earnestness in 
his behalf, and bade him good night, saying that she 
would greet him a happy Christian in the morning. 
J^o sooner had she left the room, than he was over- 
whelmed with conviction, and his bed seemed as if on 
fire. He arose and knelt down to pray, and his eye 
fell on the open Bible, and the chapter which his 



PAKENTAL PEAYEES. 



351 



mother had been reading. He read it again, and 
spent the night in a mental struggle, which resulted 
in his submission to God, with joyful hope in Christ, 
so that in the morning he met his mother as a changed 
man. The time had come, wlien prayer was to prevail, 
and God gave a premonition of the fact. 

A I^OETH Ameeican Indian Mothee. Rev. E. P. 
Hammond, the well known evangelist, in a conver- 
sation with the author, stated the following instance 
of success in a mother's prayers, of whicli he had 
learned just before, in a visit to the British Possessions, 
on the Pacific coast. In an Indian Sunday School, at 
Victoria, iie found a chiefess, or queen, whose people 
lived about six hundred miles further north. Seven 
years before, she had come to Victoria, and had 
attended an Episcopal church since that time, with- 
out any one inviting her to Christ. Passing by a 
Sunday School, one day, she went in, heard of Jesus 
as having died for sinners, and ere long put her trust 
in him. Her joy was such, that she invited her In- 
dian acquaintances to go there, and numbers of them 
were converted. And now a great burden came upon 
her heart for her son, the chief, who lived with his 
tribe, near Fort Simpson. She longed for his conver- 
sion, but knew that nothing was likely to alFect him 
up there, with all the tribe about him. So she spent 
whole nights in prayer, asking that the Lord would 
send him down to Victoria to be converted. This son 
was a very hard character, and had even acted the can- 
nibal. She had not seen him for years. How was he 



352 PEATER AJsT) ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 



to be induced to journey six hundred miles? It 
seemed hopeless praying; but she persevered. And 
what was the result ? The son took a fancy to go to 
Victoria, and have a time of carousing; and he made 
the voyage in a canoe with his wife and his uncle. 
As soon as his mother saw him, she told him of Jesus, 
whom she v\^as now loving and serving, and urged him 
to go to the Indian Sunday School. He disliked it at 
first, but she brought him .there again, still praying 
for his conversion. He was greatly impressed, when 
he heard a converted Indian, named Amos, pray. 
Having learned to read, when he was a boy, his 
mother had him read to her the fourteenth chapter 
of John's gospel, and explained to him the way of 
salvation through Christ. His heart was at last 
touched and melted, and the cannibal warrior ac- 
cepted the Savior. Then he begged" for a missionary 
for his tribe, and went home to tell his people of the 
Lord Jesus. It is said that several hundred were 
induced to follow his example, and they gave Mr. Pol- 
lard, the missionary, a wagon load of idols which they 
had worshiped. Such were the results following the 
importunate prayer of a once heathen mother for a 
still heathen son ! Her prevailing faith reminds one 
strongly of the similar faith and success of the Syro- 
Phenician mother, when Jesus was upon the earth. 

A BrnDEN Rolled off. Mrs. Xormand Smith, 
Jr., of whose happy experience in conducting family 
worship, at one time, during the absence of her hus- 
band, mention has been made in the previous chapter, 



PARENTAL PEATEES. 



353 



not many years after that was left a widow, with three 
young daughters. She says : " I had an uncommon 
burden for the early conversion of my children. I 
retired, every evening, to my room, for special prayer 
on this subject. One night, while I was pleading for 
covenant blessings npon them, a voice seemed to 
speak to me: 'If yon have evidence that you are a 
child of God, then you have a right to the blessings 
of the covenant for your children.' I said: 'Yes, 
Lord, I am thine,' and then I pleaded for my children. 
I did not expect an immediate answer, yet it was but 
a short time, before they were all converted by the 
quiet leading of the Spirit." And that mother's 
prayer continued to be answered in the use to which 
God put these daughters. One became the wife of a 
minister of Christ; a second was the widely known 
Mrs. Marshall O. Eoberts, of 'New York city, whose 
spiritual character and extended Christian influence 
in a high social position were of such value, in addi- 
tion to her connection with benevolent institutions 
and the Ladies' Union Prayer Meeting; and the third 
has pursued quiet walks of usefulness amid the 
churches and Christian enterprises of her native city. 

Heaed at Last. A correspondent of the Christian 
at Work, in the number for August 26, 1875, gives 
an account of a touching scene of which he was an 
eye-witness in the army, during the late war. It was 
after the battle of Gettysburg, and a white-haired old 
man, in one of the temporary hospitals for the 
wounded, was seen to speak to a young man of twenty, 
15* 



354 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE Ai?SWEES. 



who was lying in a critical condition on one of tlie 
beds. He drew out a small Bible to present to hira, 
when the young man pushed it back with scorn, say- 
ing he did not wish to be troubled with it, and had 
learned, while in the army, that its claims were false; 
he did not believe a word of it. The old man bowed 
his head in silent sorrow and prayed, for a moment.. 
Then calling the youth by his name, "John," he 
reminded him that, after the battle of Bull Run, when 
the call was made for more troops, he had come home 
to his mother, (the old man's only sister,) and an- 
nounced the fact that he had enlisted; and that, after 
sitting stunned for a few minutes, she broke out into 
an agonizing prayer that her son's life might be pre- 
served, if possible, and at a.11 events that he might be 
converted, and his soul be saved. He told him, also, 
what he had before intended to conceal, that two 
weeks before that mother had been laid in the grave, 
leaving, as a dying injunction to her brother, to go to 
the army, find her boy, and tell him to remember all 
her words ; to say that she had prayed for his salvation 
seven times a day, since he had left home; and to give 
him that little Bible, in which she had marked passa- 
ges for him to read. When the young man heard 
this, he cried out in anguish, and after a severe strug- 
gle of will, gave up his opposition to Christ, and 
accepted his mother's Savior. Three days after, he 
died, blessing God for the prayers of a pious mother. 

A Son at School. A mother writes how the 
earnest, parental prayers were answered for her son, 



PARENTAL PRAYEES. 



355 



when reinforced by those of other pleading saints. 
Tiie parents sent the son to the educational institution 
which was established for a time on Lookout Mountain, 
Tenn,, hoping for spiritual as well as intellectual 
benefit. The mother's narrative sajs: " One Sabbath, 
it was agreed by the teachers and some Christian 
pupils, that he be made the subject of special prayer 
for his speedy conversion. When the afternoon ser- 
vice was over, this little company retired to a large, 
flat rock, with the canopy of God's blue heaven over 
head, and sheltered by the trees his own hand had 
reared. There they prayed for this one specific object. 
The ear of him who never slumbereth, when his 
children cry, had received the request. The evening 
service came; the student, entirely unconscious of the 
interest in his behalf, was present as usual. But a 
power, such as he had never felt before, attended that 
sermon ; and when the service was ended, he was com- 
pelled, by the pressure on his spirit, to seek the coun- 
sel of one of his religious class-mates, that he might 
learn what he must do to be saved. The Spirit that 
night answered the prayer of the afternoon^ and that 
soul was born into his kingdom. He is now studying 
for the ministry." 

This is a pleasant illustration of the intermingling 
of the labors and prayers of parents and teachers. In 
thousands of instances, pious parents have sent their 
children to school and college, following them with 
continued supplications to God in their behalf; and 
then, under the faithful influence of Christian teach- 



356 PEAYEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 



ers, a religions interest has sprung np in the institu- 
tion, and the children have written home to gladden 
the parental heart with the tidings of salvation found! 

A Waening; Unsubmissive Peatees. The import- 
ance of submission to the superior wisdom of God, 
when we pray^ should be especially heeded bv parents, 
whose natural desires are strong with reference to 
their children. Rev. Mr. Kilpin, of Exeter, England, 
once gave this testimony: "I knew a case, in which 
the minister, praying over a child apparently dying, 
said: ^If it be thy will, spare this child.' The poor 
mother's soul yearning for her beloved, exclaimed : 
'It must he his will? I cannot hesir if s.' The min- 
ister stopped. To the surprise of many, the child 
recovered, and the mother, after almost suffering 
martyrdom by him while a stripling, lived to see him 
hanged before he was two-and-twenty." 

A very striking case is narrated by Dr. Edmund 
Calamy, in his life, as occurring in a family by the 
name of Mart. A young son was exceedingly ill, and 
the parents were so vehement in their prayers, and so 
unconditional, that a pious woman expostulated; when 
the father exclaimed: Let him prove what he will, so 
he is but spared, I shall be satisfied." He grew up, 
manifested a most abandoned disposition, consorted 
with villains, committed gross crime, and was con- 
demned to die. His excesses had previously driven his 
mother to derangement and suicide. Dr. Calamy 
went to see him, a few days before his execution, and 
found him in a most hardened state of mind. He 



PARENTAL PEATEES. 



357 



railed at his father, who was present, and scoffed at all 
religions appeals. In this state of mind he died, and 
on the day of his execntion, his father told Dr. Calamy 
of the nn submissive prayer offered so many years 
before, and said: ''This I now see to have been 
my folly. ^ J read my sin very distinctly in 
my punishment; but must own that God is righteous 
in all his ways and holy in all his works." 

Other such instances mJght be given, but these will 
suffice as a warning against unsubmissive prayers, 
such as parents are tempted to offer in behalf of chil- 
dren whose lives are in danger. It is a happy fact, 
that we are always safe in pleading importunately for 
spiritual blessings in their behalf. 

Dear Savior! if these lambs should stray- 
Beyond thy blest inclosure's bound, 

And lured by worldly joys away, 
Among the thoughtless crowd be found ; 

Remember still that they are thine ; 

That thy dear, sacred name they bear ; 
Think that the seal of love divine, 

The sign of covenant grace, they w^ear. 

In all their erring, sinful years. 

Oh let them ne'er forgotten be ! / • 

Remember all the prayers and tears 

Which made them consecrate to thee. 

And when these lips no more can pray, 
These eyes can weep for them no more. 

Turn thou their feet from folly's way ; 
The wanderers to thy fold restore. 

— Mrs. Hyde. 



CHAPTEE XYIII. 



PhAYER FOR MINISTERS, CHURCHES AND 
REVIVALS. 

The prayers of Christians naturally sweep a wider 
circle than that of individual conversions, in which 
one may have special reason for feeling an interest. 
Beyond the single soul, beyond the family circle, go 
out the longing and the petition of the Christian heart, 
and fasten on the local church with its pastor and other 
officers, on the universal church with its ministry and 
membership, and on a world ruined by sin, and need- 
ing the application of atoning blood. A blessing must 
be brought down, and so the anxious Jacobs of the 
church begin their wrestling, and ere long become 
prevailing Israels. Sometimes prayer is directed to 
God, first of all, in behalf of a minister. It may be to 
obtain one for a vacant church, which greatly needs a 
spiritual pastor. Then we have a class of cases like 
that described in the following statement, by Rev. 
Samuel Wolcott, D. D., of Cleveland, O. 

PnAYiNa TO Obtain a Pastor. Dr. Wolcott writes : 
" In a church of which I was formerly the pastor, there 
were three or four ladies, somewhat advanced in years 
— one of them a widow, wiiose life had been eventfully 
associated with the progress of Christ's kingdom in 

(358) 



• 



FOE MINISTEES, CHUECHES AND EEVIYALS. 359 

another community — wlio seemed to have special 
power in prayer. For years they had kept up a 
weekly prayer meeting, open to others, though seldom 
attended by any but themselves. They were sedate 
and serious, but cheerful; calm, not impulsive; and 
their evident spirituality was accompanied w^itli a 
beautiful simplicity of character" and transparency of 
feeling, without the slightest morbid development. 
They met for prayer during the two weeks I was sup- 
plying the vacant pulpit, at the residence of the lady 
with whom I was staying. I had made up my mind 
not to encourage any movement toward a call, or to 
listen to any overture. They knew this, and spread 
the case before the Lord. They continued in prayer 
until the assurance came into their hearts, that I 
should be their pastor. Had I given a negative answer 
to a call, I should not have been more confident that 
I was not coming. Had tliey received an affirmative, 
their confidence that I would come, would not have 
been stronger. Had this been a solitary experience, I 
should lay less stress upon it. But during a ministry 
of twelve years which succeeded, in which 350 persons 
were received to the church, and of which the prayers 
of these godly women were to the last the principal 
support, I had repeated occasions to notice answers to 
prayers which w^ere prophetic. I became convinced, 
that the Most High was in gracious communication 
with them, and heard and answered their prayers — 
occasionally revealing to them his purpose, through 
his Spirit, as clearly as your note before me discloses 



# 



360 PEAYER AND ITS KEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

to me a purpose of your own. ^ ^ J thus came 
to understand, during my last ministry more fully 
than before, the meaning of this prayer of faith, as set 
forth in the New Testament. "When the soul comes 
into perfect accord and sympathy with the Lord Jesus 
Christ, its affections, desires and petitions fasten upon 
the same objects, and no other, which engage his own 
infinite approval and love. The intense longings 
imparted by the Holy Spirit are accompanied by the 
Spirit's discernment. Filled with the Spirit, the 
believer's desires are concentrated upon the objects 
which are dear to the indwelling Spirit. Thus he asks 
in Christ's name, and receives ; for God is waiting to 
bestow." 

Prating for the Spiritual Baptism of the Pastor. 
Many a revival in a church has commenced in the 
earnest prayers of a few brethren or sisters for a new 
spiritual baptism of the pastor. Sometimes a defect 
has been noticed in his ministrations; in other instan- 
ces, there has only been a desire that he might be still 
further instructed by God himself in the deep things 
of the Spirit, and that he might be specially prepared 
for carrying forward a work of power in the commu- 
nity. A case in point has come within the knowledge 
of the author. 

There was in one of our Eastern cities a minister 
of rare genius, whose discourses had such literary 
excellence as to attract large and admiring audiences. 
He was not sensational, in conscious aim and general 
spirit, but was pure and simple in character and 



FOE mNISTEES, CnUECHES AND REVIVALS. 361 

preaelied the gospel, as he understood it. But he had 
unusual talent, was of an emotional and poetic tem- 
perament, and chiefly interested the people by discus- 
sing themes which are on the outskirts of religion, and 
belong to its morality and esthetics rather than to its 
central heart and life. The consequence was, that 
while applauding crowds came, there were few conver- 
sions, and there was no deepening of the spiritual life 
of the church. Thinking sorrowfully over this fact, a 
few brethren agreed to make the pastor a subject of 
special private prayer, that the Lord himself would be 
his teacher. This united prayer was continued for 
some time, when, one Sunday, the pastor went into his 
pulpit, and prayed and preached in a manner which 
astonished his audience, by its gospel-simplicity, its 
spiritual fervor, its moving pathos and its earnest 
endeavor to bring men to an instant and full accept- 
ance of an atoning Savior. He told the wondering 
people, that he had recently experienced so total a 
change of view and feeling, that it seemed like a sec- 
ond conversion. The old Bible ti*uths had opened to 
him wdth a new meaning, and especially the fact that 
Christ had made an atoning sacrifice for human sin, 
and that the vilest sinner might be " justified " before 
God, on repenting of his wickedness, by faith in this 
finished work and prevailing intercession of the Son 
of God. All hearts were melted, as they listened, and 
all eyes filled with tears, and especially did those pray- 
ing brethren overflow with thanksgiving, as they saw 
the answer wliicii God had mercifully granted. After 
16 



362 PEAYEK AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

that, there was no more feeling that only the intellect 
was fed. A succession of discourses came, filled with 
the very marrow of the gospel, and from that day to 
the present, this minister has been as noted for the 
spirituality as for the intellectual richness of his 
preaching. When he subsequently learned of the 
prayers of that pleading band of brethren, he under- 
stood the way in which the Lord had led him, and that 
the secret of a pulpit of power is a praying church. 

Incidentally it is well to notice how much wiser was 
this conduct of the brethren in question, than if they 
had begun publicly to criticise the pastor and form a 
dissatisfied party in the church; or to make him in 
the church conference meeting the subject of prayers 
which reflected on his piety and preaching; or to annoy 
him by sanctimonious exhortations in private, to be 
repeated afterward to a coterie of self-righteous mal- 
contents. Had they so acted, they might easily have 
soured their own minds, repelled him from the truth, 
and split the church into discordant factions. As it 
was, they brought a blessing upon the pastor, upon 
themselves, and upon the entire church. 

Another Case. Rev. C. G. Finney mentions, in 
one of his Revival Lectures, a somewhat similar in- 
stance. He says: "I knew a case of a minister in ill 
health^ who became depressed and sunk down in his 
mind, and was very much in darkness, so that he did 
not feel as if he could preach any longer. An individ- 
ual of the church was waked up to feel for the min- 
ister's situation, and to pray that he might have the 



FOE MINISTEES, CHrECHES AND EETIVALS. 863 

Holy Gliost to attend his preaching. , One Sabbath 
morning, this person's mind was very much exercised, 
and he began to pray as soon as it was light, and he 
prayed again and again, for a blessing that day. And 
the Lord, in some way, directed the minister within 
hearing of his prayer. The person was telling the 
Lord just what he thought of the minister's situation 
and state of mind, and pleading, as if he would not 
be denied, for a blessing. The minister went into the 
pulpit and preached, and the light broke in upon him, 
and the word was with power, and a revival commenced 
that very day. " 

The connection of prayer with the usual revivals in 
churches is too familiar to call for evidence. The rule, 
with scarcely a known exception, is, that prayer of an 
earnest and importunate character always precedes. It 
may have been on the part of the church in general; 
or it may have proceeded from a single persevering 
suppliant, as in the following instance, communicated 
by one long in the Christian ministry and of large ex- 
perience in revivals. 

The Eed School-Hofse. Eeligion was at a very 
low ebb in a town in Vermont. The discouraged 
pastor gave notice that the usual weekly prayer meet- 
ing in the red school-house would be discontinued, as 
so few attended. It was in the winter, and a deep 
snow lay on the ground. There was a praying old 
lady in the church, who, undismayed by the pastor's 
notice, and in fact, inspired by it with a new earnest- 
ness, took her lantern on the usual evening, plodded 



36tt PEATER AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 



her way to the school-house, and there spent an hour 
in wrestling prayer for a revival. On her way home, 
being exhausted, she stopped at a good deacon's to rest. 
Astonished to find her out alone, in such weather and 
at such an hour, he asked, " Where have you been, 
mother?" ''Why, to the prayer meeting," she re- 
plied. " I thought that was given up," said the dea- 
con. "Not at all." "Indeed! Who was there?" 
" Why, God, the Father, was there; God, the Son, was 
there; God, the Holy Spirit was there; and unworthy 
I was permitted to be there! We had a most blessed 
time, and next week we are to have another meeting." 
I^ext week came, the word had been passed around, 
and the red school-house was crowded with penitent 
professors of religion, who confessed their past cold- 
ness, and renewed their consecration. A revival of 
great interest followed. JN'early every church has had 
experience of the more usual relation of united prayer, 
and perhaps a single instance will suffice as an illus- 
tration, condensed from Dr. Wm. Wisner's " Incidents 
in a Pastor's Life." There had been some special 
interest in the church of which Dr. Wisner was pastor, 
but it had soon abated : 

" The enemies of religion began to rejoice aloud, 
that the excitement, as they called it, was over, and 
only a few young people and children had been affected 
by it. * ^ On the next Sabbath I preached, 
with an aching heart, from the text, ' The triumphing 
of the wicked is short.' At the close of the 

exercises, Monday was appointed as a day of humiliation 



FOR MIOTSTEES, CHUECIIES AND EEYIYALS. 365 



and prayer; and wlien it came, it found the whole 
church with one accord in one place. Christians were 
deeply humbled under a sense of their sins, and with 
many tears poured out their agonizing prayer to God, 
that for his holy name's sake; he would hear the 
voice of our supplications and revive us again. 
Tuesday and Wednesday, the little church continued 
instant in prayer. On "Wednesday afternoon, as we 
were all on our knees, in the parlor of a private house, 
one of our elders, an old man full of the Holy Ghost, 
while pleading with sobs and tears for the return of 
the Blessed Comforter, said in a tone of humble con- 
fidence: ^ O Lord, open our eyes, that we may see, as 
thy servants did of old, that there are horses and 
chariots of fire between us and our enemies, and that 
they that be for us are more than they that be against 

us.' -5^ '>5- -x- ^ 

" That evening, two or three individuals requested the 
prayers of God's people; and that night one of the 
leading physicians in the place obtained comfort from 
the Lord. The next morning, as we were, a few of us, 
met at his house for prayer, his wife requested us to 
pray for a sister of his, who was up stairs, in deep 
distress of mind. "While we were on our knees, 
praying for her, she came down so full of joy and 
peace, that she wished us to return thanks to the Lord, 
for snatching her as a brand from the burning. A 
new impulse was given to the work. Friday and 
Saturday were days of much fervency of prayer, and 
several were brought to submit themselves unto God. 



366 PEATEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 

The Sabbatli was a solemn day, and, I trust, a day of 
salvation. On Monday evening, at my meeting of 
inquiry, the room was crowded with anxious sinners, 
and two precious souls, we had reason to hope, were 
in that meeting delivered, from their bondage to Satan. 

" The next morning, as I was going into a house, 
"where the man and his wife were the night before con- 
victed of sin, a young man came running across the 
street, and in great distress threw his arms around me, 
and besought me to pray for him. I told him, 1 could 
not do so there, but I would meet him, in thirty 
minutes, at Mr. Herrick's — a merchant who had 
recently been converted to Christ. I went into the 
house where I had intended to visit, and told them 
they might meet me in half an hour at the place I 
had appointed for the young man. I went immediately 
to Mr. H.'s, and told him we would, a few of us, be at 
his house at nine o'clock, to spend an hour in prayer. 
I then notified two or three Christians of the meeting 
thus unexpectedly appointed, and, at nine, we com- 
menced praying with perhaps half a dozen Christians, 
and four anxious persons. As soon as we began to 
pray, the Spirit of God seemed to come down with 
great power, and three of the four anxious persons 
soon began to rejoice in the Lord. When these things 
were noised abroad, the multitude came together, and 
in a short time two good-sized rooms, which opened 
into each other, were crowded to overflowing; and 
many who came to see what was doing, went away 
rejoicing in Christ. At noon, I endeavored to send 



FOK MINISTERS, CHUECHES AND EEYIVALS. 367 

the people away; but they would not be persuaded to 
disperse, and the whole day was spent in prayer and 
religious conversation. That evening, we had a prayer 
meeting in the court room, which was much crowded, 
and several there indulged a hope of pardon and 
eternal life. At nine o'clock, the congregation was 
dismissed, and we returned home with more of a dis- 
position to pray than sleep. 

"Wednesday morning, at nine, the assembly at brother 
H.'s was so large, that we were obliged to remove to 
the court house, which was filled to its utmost capacity 
with Christians and anxious sinners. We remained 
here, with an hour's intermission, until nine at night, 
when the congregation was again reluctantly sent 
away. The next morning, we met at the sanctuary, 
to observe our annual State Thanksgiving. The house 
was so greatly crowded at an early hour, that, though 
it was large, and the aisle supplied with benches, all 
.could not be seated. An awful solemnity pervaded 
the whole assembly, and for a time the only noise that 
was heard was the half-suppressed sobs, which now 
and then escaped from an overburdened soul, l^ever 
before had I beheld so solemn an assembly, and never 
before or since have I felt so deeply the awfulness of 
the divine presence. I preached from the words: 
'Kejoice with trembling,' and never have I felt so 
much like a dying man preaching to dying men. 
Through the remainder of the week the court room 
was crowded from nine in the morning until nine at 
night, with praying and inquiring souls, and very 



368 PEAYER AND ITS KEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 



many of our leading citizens were broiiglit to put tlieir 
trust in the Lamb of God. The next Sabbath was our 
communion, and eighty-six persons were received into 
the church. A pleasing work of grace continued 
through the winter." 

It will be noticed that this revival was born of 
prayer, and that the special prayer was occasioned 
by the scoffs of the wicked. This inspired God's 
people with zeal for his glory, and led to earnest and 
believing supplication for the outpouring of the Holy 
Spirit. A multitude of revivals have had a similar 
origin. 

Revivals undee Hev. Chaeles G. Finney. Mr. 
Finney was the most powerful and successful of the 
revival-preachers during the period from 1825 to 1835. 
His labors extended, at times, into New England, but 
were chiefly confined to the state of 'New York. The 
work was remarkably thorough, as his preaching was 
searching, and often destroyed the hopes of those who 
had been professors of religion for many years. The 
conviction of sin in the revivals of that period was 
deep, and the process of conversion sharp-cut and 
decisive. A distinguishing feature was the prom- 
inence given to prayer. Mr. Finney insisted on 
greater importunity and faith, and almost made 
Christians feel, that they had never before prayed 
at all. He assured them that one of the chief stum- 
bling-blocks in the way of the wicked was, that they 
heard so many prayers, and saw so few answers. 
Plainly the professed people of God had very little 



FOE MINISTERS, CHUECHES AND REVIVALS. 369 



power in prayer, and did not expect to receive the 
things for which they asked. Some of Mr. Finney's 
most valuable and influential sermons were on this 
point. Let the reader turn to his Lectures on Ke- 
vivals," and he will find that Lecture lY., is on " Pre- 
vailing Prayer " ; Lecture V., is on the " Prayer of 
Faith " ; Lecture YI. is on the " Spirit of Prayer," 
and Lecture YIIL on " Meetings for Prayer." In 
the first of these he remarks: ''Prayer is an essen- 
tial link in the chain of causes that lead to a revival ; 
as much so as truth is. Some have zealously used 
truth to convert men, and laid very little stress on 
prayer. They have preached, and talked, and distrib- 
uted tracts with, great zeal, and then wondered that 
they had so little success. And the reason was, that 
they forgot to use the other branch of the means, 
effectual prayer. They overlook the fact, that truth 
hy itself will never produce the efteet, because it will 
not be believed, without the Spirit of God." The 
sixth lecture he conclndes thus: " ]S^ow will you give 
yourselves up to prayer, and live so as to have the 
spirit of prayer, and have the Spirit with you all the 
time? Oh for a praying church! I once knew a min- 
ister, who had a revival fourteen winters in succession. 
I did not know how to account for it, till I saw one 
of his members get up in a prayer meeting, and make 
a confession. 'Brethren,' said he, 'I have been long 
in the habit of praying every Saturday night, till after 
midnight, for the descent of the Holy Ghost among 
us. And now, brethren,' and he began to weep, ' I 



370 PEAYER AND ITS EEMAEKABLE AITSWEES. 

confess that I have neglected it for two or three 
weeks.' The secret was out. That minister had a 
praying church." In the other lectures he constantly 
reverts to this topic. Thus in the thirteenth, on 

How Churches can Help Ministers," his fifth point 
is, that they should pray for thein, and he says: "I 
have seen Christians who would be in an agony, when 
the minister was going into the pulpit for fear his 
mind should be in a cloud, or his heart cold, or he 
should have no unction, and so a blessing should not 
come. I have labored with a man of this sort. He 
would pray till he got an assurance in his mind that 
God would be with me in preaching, and some times 
he would pray himself sick. I have known the time, 
when he has been in darkness, for a season, while the 
people were gathering, and his mind was full of anx- 
iety, and he would go again and again to pray, till 
finally he would come into the room with a placid 
face, and say, ' The Lord has come, and he will be 
with us.' And I do not know that I ever found him 
mistaken." Probably this was "Father Nash." 

A Praying Sotjl and a Succession of Revivals. 
In his seventh lecture, on "Being Filled with the 
Spirit," Mr. Finney states these singular facts: "A 
pious man in the western part of the state of J^ew 
York was sick with the consummation. He was a poor 
man, and sick for years. An unconverted merchant 
in the place had a kind heart, and used to send him, 
now and then, some things for his comfort, or for his 
family. He felt grateful for the kindness, but could 



FOE MINISTERS, CHUECHES AND EEVIVALS. 371 

make no return, as lie wanted to do. At length he 
determined that the best return he could make would 
be to pray for his salvation. He began to pray, and 
his soul kindled, and he got hold on God. There was 
no revival there, but, by-and-by, to the astonishment 
of everybody, this merchant came out on the Lord's 
side. The fire kindled all over the place, and a pow- 
erful revival followed, and multitudes were converted. 
This poor man lingered in this way, for several years, 
and died. After his death, I visited the place, and 
his widow put into my hands his diary. Among 
other things, he says in his diary: 'I am acquainted 
with about thirty ministers and churches,' and he then 
goes on to set apart certain hours in the day and 
week, to pray for each of these ministers and churches, 
and also certain seasons for praying for the different 
missionary stations. Then followed, under different 
dates, such facts as these: 'To-day, (naming the date,) 
I have been enabled to offer what I call the prayer of 

faith for the outpouring of the Spirit on church, 

and I trust in God there will soon be a revival there.' 
Under another date: ' I have, to-day, been able to offer 
what I call the prayer of faith fon such a church, and 
trust there will soon be a revival there.' Thus he 
had gone over a great number of churches, recording 
the fact that he had prayed for them in faith, that a 
revival might soon prevail among them. Of the mis- 
sionary stations, if I recollect aright, he mentions in 
particular the mission in Ceylon. I believe the last 
place mentioned in his diary, for which he offered the 



372 PKAYEE AND ITS EEMAKKABLE ANSWERS. 

prayer of faith, was the place in which he lived. 'Not 
long after noticing these facts in his diary, the revival 
commenced, and went over the region of country, 
nearly, I believe, if not quite, in the order in which 
they had been mentioned in his diary; and in dne 
time news came from Ceylon, that there was a revival 
of religion there. The revival in his own town did 
not commence till after his death. Its commence- 
ment Avas at the time when his widow put into my 
hands the document to w^hich I have referred. She 
told me he was so exercised in prayer during his 
sickness, that she often feared he would pray himself 
to death. The revival was exceedingly great and 
powerful in all the region, and the fact that it was 
about to prevail had not been hidden from this servant 
of the Lord." 

This last remark gives the true explanation of the 
series of facts. " The secret of the Lord is with them 
that fear him," and the Holy Spirit, having a work of 
salvation to perform, inspires his people to pray for 
the very blessing which he is about to bestow. All 
things concur and co-operate in the wise and compre- 
hensive plans of God. 

A Scotch Revival two and a half Centueies 
Since. This connection of remarkable outpourings of 
the Holy Spirit with specially earnest prayer is no 
new experience of the church. From the day of Pen- 
tecost onward, this has been God's method. Let us 
take an illustration from Scotland. Fleming, in his 
work entitled, "The Fulfilling of Scriptures," re- 



FOR MINISTERS, CIIUECIIES AND REVIVALS. 373 



marks: " I must also mention tliat solemn communion 
at the Kirk-of-Schotts, June 30, 1630 ; at which time, 
there was so convincing an appearance of God, and 
down-pouring of the Spirit — even in an extraordinary 
waj, that did follow the ordinances, especially that 
sermon on Monday, June 21, with a strange, unusual 
motion on the hearers, when a great multitude were 
convened of divers ranks — that it was known, which I 
can speak on sure ground, near five hundred had at 
that time a discernible change wrought on them, of 
whom most proved lively Christians, afterwards. It 
was the sowing of the seed through Ciyddisdale, so as 
many of the most eminent Christians in that country 
could date, either their conversion, or some remarkable 
confirmation in their case, from that day. And truly 
this was the more remarkable, that one, after much 
reluctance, by special and unexpected pro'^idence, was 
called to preach that sermon on the Monday, which 
then was not usually practiced ; and that night hefore^ 
hy most of the Christians there, was spent i7i prayer/ 
so that the Monday's work might be discerned as a 
convincing return of prayer." "Ask, and ye shall 
receive," has always been the law of God's kingdom, 
and the privilege of Christ's household. 

Regent Revivals. The revivals of the last twenty 
years have been numerous, and have pervaded the 
United States, Ireland, Scotland, and England. They 
have followed the usual law of divine providence in 
the furtherance of good causes, to-wit: a development 
of new methods and fresh sources of influence. Thus 



374 PKAYER AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

the revivals of a generation since were chiefly the 
result of God's blessing on the preaching of minis- 
ters — pastors and evangelists. But now, an impetus 
has been given to lay agency, and to conference meet- 
ings, instead of preaching services. This was a signal 
characteristic of the great refreshing which began after 
the financial crisis of 1857. The establishment of the 
Fulton Street l^oon Prayer Meeting, in I^ew York, in 
September of that year, and its marked success, led to 
the establishment of a multitude of similar meetings 
in all parts of the land. Those in the principal cities 
soon overflowed the largest churches and halls. Be- 
sides these central and union noon-day services, 
thousands of churches commenced special meetings 
for prayer in their own sanctuaries ; which were con- 
tinued for weeks and months, and resulted in thousands 
of conversions. The value of this experience lay in 
the fact, that it brought out the lay-element, in prayer 
and exhortation, and showed that revivals needed no 
elaborate machinery, or learned pulpit eflbrt; but that 
God would bless earnest and prayerful endeavor, by 
whomsoever put forth. From that time to the pres- 
ent, prayer has been more largely relied on, and the 
meetings have assumed a primitive simplicity of type, 
which, properly guarded, augurs well for the purity 
of our religion, theologically and experimentally. 
The grand test is working power. 'No system of doc- 
trine, preaching and worship which fails to develop 
prayer, faith, spiritual labor, and success in convert- 
ing souls from sin, can long have the face to claim to 



FOR MINISTERS, CHURCHES AND REVIVAJLS. 375 

be the relio^ion of Jesiis Christ. And with such lack 
of result, the greater the exclusiveness, the more pre- 
posterous the claim will be pronounced. There can 
not fail to be a deep impression upon the church, and 
upon the world, in favor of prayer as an instrument 
of power, when it is seen what marked results come 
from the simplest means. 

Prayer and the Irish Hevival of 1859. There is 
not space to reproduce the facts which occupy a vol- 
ume of nearly 500 pages, from the pen of Rev. 
William Gibson, who, being Professor in Queen's 
College, Belfast, and Moderator of the Presbyterian 
General Assembly, and having previously visited this 
country to ascertain the character of the revival here, 
was specially qualified to treat of the subject. He 
makes the part which prayer bore in the introduction 
of those spiritual triumphs duly prominent. Thus, 
of the General Assembly of 1858, he sajs: ''It de- 
volved on the convener, the Eev. Dr. Kirkpatrick, of 
Dublin, to advert to the extraordinary display of 
divine grace with which the American churches had 
been visited during the preceding winter, and the 
accounts of which had been already widely circulated 
throughout the community. On the reception of his 
report, the Assembly resolved to devote a portion of 
its sittings to special conference and prayer, with ref- 
erence to this great spiritual movement. The season 
thus set apart was one of peculiar solemnity and 
sacredness; and when one after another of the fathers 
rose up in his place, to tender his paternal counsels, and 



376 PEATEB AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 

wlien the voice of praise and supplication ascended 
afterwards to heaven, all hearts were touched as bj a 
common sympathy, v/liile from the reigning harmony 
and fervor many fondly cherished the expectation 
of a time of more abundant blessing." The acknowl- 
edged birth-place of the revival was in the prayer 
meeting established in a Sabbath school at Tan- 
nybrake, County of Antrim. Among others who 
were associated in the Sabbath school prayer meeting, 
were the four young men whose names have been 
much before the public in connection with the subse- 
quent revival. As they were some miles apart, they 
resolved to meet at a central place, and, for this pur- 
pose, chose an old school-house, where were conducted 
the exercises which have been generally regarded as 
the origin of the revival. " For a few months," says 
Mr. Gibson, " they had to walk by faith. ^ ^ ^ 
They wrestled on. They prevailed. Surely, when 
God's set time is come — when he intends signally 
to answer prayer — he disposes the supplicant to plead, 
and with growing anxiety to plead on, till the blessing 
is secured." One of the ministers, in whose congre- 
gation a powerful revival-work was enjoyed, had, a few 
weeks before, recorded this in his diary: " I am begin- 
ning to have more hope in prayer than I had. What 
I have heard of the Lord's wonderful doings in Amer- 
ica, -and in this land, and all, apparently, in answer to 
believing prayer, causes me to hope that God will 
answer my earnest prayers for the outpouring of his 
Spirit here." And when one comes to read an account 



FOE MINISTEESj CHURCHES AKD EEVIVALS. 377 

of the details of tlie wide-spre?cd work, he finds prayer 
interlaced with everything. The leading exercises in 
many of the places were prayer meetings, and the sin- 
gle cases of answer to prayer were many and marked. 
The coming of the revival to each place, or district, 
seems to have been preceded by earnest pleading on 
the part of certain souls, whom God inspired with 
the spirit of supplication. In the concluding chapter, 
Mr. Gibson says: "From first to last, the work has 
been, to a great extent, a record of answered prayer." 
During 1859, about 10,000 communicants were added 
to 306 Presbyterian churches, in Ireland, as the first 
fruits of the revival. 

The Scotch Eevival of 1859-61. The same tidal 
wave of religious interest passed from Ireland to Scot- 
land. Its history cannot here be written. A good 
summary of events will be found in Rev. Dr. S. 
Irenseus Prime's " Five Tears of Prayer." What is 
now in point is, to notice the distinct connection of the 
revival with special prayer ofiered by God's people. 
In reference to the beginning of the work at Glasgow, 
the Scottish Guardian said: ''Our readers are aware 
that ever since the news of the great revival in Amer- 
ica reached Scotland, prayer meetings for the special 
purpose of imploring a similar blessing have been held 
in Glasgow, as well as in other places. The intelli- 
gence which has reached us recently leaves no room to 
doubt that these prayers have been heard. ^ ^ God 
has been pleased, from the very beginning of these 
prayer meetings, to use them as the means of convert- 
16* 



378 PKA.YEE AND ITS EEMAEKAELE ANSWERS. 



ing souls and quickening liis own people. * -2^ * 
Christian men and women appear to be attaining to 
greater faith in the power of prayer." Of the work 
at Port Glasgow, it was said: ''We have been visited 
here with blessed times of refreshing. We had long 
been praying much for the gracious manifestation of 
God's presence and power among us, and when the 
intelligence of the revival in Ireland reached us, this 
gave a new impulse to our faith and prayer. -^s- 
One feature of this work is a deep conviction of sin. 
^ ^ ^ Another feature of the work is exceeding 
earnestness in prayer." We are further told that " in 
Annan the Week of Prayer (the first week in Jan- 
nary, 1861,) was observed with great solemnity, and 
earnest supplications went up to the throne of grace 
for the outpouring of the Spirit. The answer was very 
speedy." Of the parish of Kirkmahoc we read: 
" Every word that was said to them seemed to have 
no effect, and we felt it high time to invoke God's 
blessing. After engaging in prayer, we recommenced 
the inquiry-meeting: we were doing something, but 
not what ought to be done. A second and a third 
time we engaged in prayer, and after this, every word 
seemed to be winged with the power of the Spirit of 
God." Eev. H. H. MacGill, Secretary of the United 
Presbyterian church, in a published statement declared: 
The invariable testimony of the brethren is, that a 
spirit of prayerfulness preceded the revival. In Burg- 
head, one of the fishing villages in the North, the first 
special fact noticed as preceding the revival was the 



FOE MINISTEES, CIIUEOHES AND EEYIVALS. 379 



following: that at a prayer meeting held in the house 
of a Christian woman laid for the last thirty years on 
a bed of affliction, the burden of the prayers, at her 
request, was for the outpouring of the Spirit for the 
quickening of God's people and the conversion of sin- 
ners. Ere long, the careless fishing people were awak- 
ened, and many of them converted to the Lord." In 
the report on the revival made to the Free Church 
Assembly, Rev. Dr. Woods said: "I scarcely know of 
any instance where the awakening has not been pre- 
ceded by the spirit of prayer and expectation. * ^ 
There was increased attendance at prayer meetings, 
and an increase in the exercise of prayer in our social 
circles, in our families, and in secret. And when the 
Lord had thus prepared us for receiving the blessing, 
it pleased him to pour it out very remarkably, and 
very abundantly." 

The Revival in Wales. At the same time, a simi- 
larly mighty work, involving most thrilling incidents, 
was going on in Wales, as the result of which, in a 
single year, there were accessions to the churches of 
about thirty- five thousand members. All agree that 
the grand instrumentality was prayer. Rev. John 
Yenn, the historian of the revival, , says: "Without 
disparaging the pulpit, or in any way degrading the 
ofiices instituted by Christ in his church, it must 
strike all, that prayer, oral, united prayer, has been 
greatly honored of God, as a means of commencing 
and extending the present movement. The exact place 
of prayer, in the great machinery of moral means, has 



380 PKAYEK AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

been better understood, and tlie belief in its efficacy 
lias been more fully acted npon now than at any for- 
mer time." Anotlier writer says : " We expected that 
the great outpouring of the Spirit would come by 
means of preaching. It was so in former days — it 
may be so again — and it is so now to some extent, 
^ ^ ^ but still it is quite clear that the Holy 
Spirit's influence, at the present time, is communicated 
by means of prayer." Still another says: "I am per- 
suaded that the means blessed of God to create and 
carry on the revival in most places, if not in all, is 
PRATER. You can trace its origin and progress in 
every locality to prayer." Yet another thus testifies: 
" Prayer meetings have been the principal means with 
us of awakening the churches. In many places union 
prayer meetings have been very useful in drawing the 
public mind toward the great question of salvation." 
And so the universal statement goes. G-od is plainly 
teaching his people a partly forgotten lesson as to the 
power of prayer for spiritual blessings on churches and 
communities. 

The Week of Prayer. Keference was made in one 
of the Scotch accounts to the fact that in one place the 
revival followed speedily upon the Week of Prayer. 
'No sign of the times is more marked than the estab- 
lishment of this custom, first suggested by a company 
of missionaries in India, of observing the opening 
Yveek of each year as a season of special prayer for the 
progress of religion in the world. The request was 
very gradually assented to; but now the custom is 



FOE MINISTEES, CHUECHES AND EEVIVALS. 381 

v/ell-nigh universal among evangelical denominations, 
and the effect lias been every way note-worthy. In 
proportion to its earnest observance there has been 
awakened increased desire and faith, and revivals have 
been more frequent and prevalent, commencing very 
commonly with the exercises of that week. 

Day of Peatee foe CoLLEaES. About fifty years 
since, Christian men were led to think of the great 
number of students in the colleges of this country, of 
the vast influence which they would soon exert upon, 
the character of the land, of the peculiar facilities 
offered by their isolated condition for religious awaken- 
ings, and of the readiness of God to hear united prayer 
for specific objects. So they first selected each Sunday 
morning, and then agreed to observe the last Thursday 
of February, as an annual concert of prayer for the 
reviving of religion in colleges and kindred institu- 
tions. From that time, began a series of more or less 
powerful revivals in our American colleges. Prayer 
increased more and more, and with prayer came earnest 
desire and appropriate labor. Faith and works wrought 
together, and the blessing came. The Secretary of the 
College Society, Rev. Theron Baldwin, D. D., thus 
speaks of the results, after a series of years: ^'From 
1820 to 1823 inclusive, there were revivals in fourteen 
different institutions; in 1824 and 1825, in five differ- 
ent colleges; in 1826, in six; in 1827, in four; in 
1828, in five; and in 1831, in nineteen colleges, result- 
ing in the hopeful conversion of between three hun- 
dred and fifty and four hundred students. In one of 



382 



PRATEE AXD ITS EEilAEKABLE A^'SWEES. 



the colleges the revival commenced on tlie very day of 
the concert. In IS 32. some few institutions were 
blessed with the effusions of the Spirit, and also in 

1833, A larger number were blessed with revivals in 

1834, and no less than eighteen in 1S35, and between 
one and two hundred students were hopefully brought 
into the kingdom of Christ. It has been estimated 
that fifteen hundi-ed students were made the hopeful 
subjects of grace in thirty-six different colleges, from 
1S20 to 1S35 inclusive,*' It may be added, that the 
experience of the succeeding forty years has been 
similar to that just given, though the statistics are 
not at hand. 

The Laboes of Me. Moody Aeeoad. There is not 
space left to describe such an extensive work as that 
recently wi'oiight in connection with the preaching of 
Mr. D. L. Moody and the singing of Mr. I. D. Sankey. 
But from beginning to end. it has been a signal reward 
of faith, andean answer to prayer. Before his departure 
for England, Mr. Moody earnestly sought divine 
guidance, and received an assurance that he was called 
to labor for a time in that distant field. Hence his 
famous reply, when asked why he was going thither: 
" Ten thousand sonls for Jesus I " And God has given 
him these, apparently, many times over. And the 
minute history of his labors, — especially in the disap- 
pointing circumstances of their beginning, as to the 
expected human helpers, and the consequent necessity 
to fall back on God, in earnest prayer — reveals the 
same subsequent spirit. So also does the manner in 



FOR MINISTERS, CHURCHES AND REVIVALS. 383 

whicli the exercises were conducted in all tlie places 
where he labored, in Scotland, Ireland and England — ■ 
prayer being everywhere put forward as the chief 
reliance. Indeed, pages might be occupied with the 
striking incidents, in response to prayer, which 
occurred in preparation for the meetings and in con- 
nection with the exercises, by which God removed 
serious obstacles, and converted hundreds and thousands 
of souls to himself. 

Prof. Thomas C. Upham's Yiew. An excellent sum- 
ming up of these facts, as illustrative of Bible-truth, 
is furnished by the following extract from Professor 
Upham's Divine Union "The soul which is fully 
in the experience of divine nnion will harmonize per- 
fectly with the desires and emotions of the divine 
mind. If, for instance, there are soon to be especial 
operations of the Holy Spirit, and if souls are to be 
enlightened and restored to God, the preparations for 
such events will always exist first in the naind of God 
himself. It is not possible that snch things should 
exist accidentally. They are the developments, com- 
ing in their appropriate order and under appropriate 
circumstances, of the divine thought, of the divine 
feeling. But if it be true that the heaving of the bil- 
lows, whether gently or more powerfully, will first 
show themselves in the great ocean of thought and 
feeling, it will also be true that they will excite a cor- 
responding movement in all smaller streams and foun- 
tains which are in alliance with them. In other 
words, God, in all good works, moves first; and the 



384: PRATEK AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

minds of his people (all those who come within the 
particular sphere of the movement) move in harmony 
with him. If God desires a particular thing to take 
place within their particular sphere "of feeling and 
action, the desire of the Infinite mind sympathetically 
takes shape and develops itself in the finite mind; 
and the unspoken desire of the Father shows itself in 
the uttered prayer of the children. As in nature a 
small moaning sound of the winds often precedes a 
wide and powerful movement, so the sighing in the 
bosoms of the finite denotes an approaching move- 
ment of far greater power in the Infinite." 

When Jehovali turned again, 

Zion's sore captivity, 
Like the dreamers of a dream, 

Seemed one in tliat day to be ; 
Filled with laughter was our mouth, 

And our tongue with melody. 

Spake our heathen lords : Great things 

Hath Jehovah for them done ; 
Great things hath he done for us, 

We will joy in him alone. 
Turn our bondage, Lord, like streams 

Dried up by the southern sun. 

They shall reap their fields in joy. 
Who in sowing weep and mourn; 

He that goeth forth in tears 

With his seed, shall yet return, 

In the gladness of his heart, 

With his sheaves of harvest corn. 

— Bonar's Version of Psalm cxxxt. 



CHAPTEE XIX. 



PBAYEB FOR CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 

The spread of Christianity has everywhere been 
accompanied by the establishment of hospitals, asy- 
lums, and other charitable institutions for the relief 
of human distress. As nothing could be more har- 
monious than this result with the spirit of the gospel, 
and as nothing also could more favorably impress the 
world with its divine origin, so it might be expected 
to give occasion to special and successful prayer. And 
Buch has been the fact. 

Feanke and the Oephan House at Halle. Augus- 
tus Herman Franke was a minister in Halle, Germany, 
on a small salary, and with no property but his books. 
He conceived the project of an orphan asylum for the 
children of the poor. In due time it was opened, and 
he had several hundred children depending on him for 
food, clothing and education, and no other resources, 
but the voluntary gifts of the benevolent. When his 
treasury was utterly exhausted, he was in the habit of 
reporting the fact to the Lord, and asking for the 
needed aid. This was sure to be given, and it will aid 
faith to hear a part of his testimony: 

"In the month of April, 1696, our funds were 
exhausted, and I knew not where to look for the neces- 
17 (385) 



386 PKAYEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWERS. 

sary supplies for the next week. This caused me great 
distress; when some person, who is yet unknown to 
me, put into my hands a thousand dollars, for the 
orphans. At another time, when our stores were 
exhausted, we laid our case before the Lord, and had 
scarcely finished our prayer, when there was a knock 
at my door, and a letter was handed in, with fifty dol- 
lars in gold. Twenty dollars soon after came, which 
fully supplied our wants, and we were taught that God 
will often hear prayer almost before it is ofiered. In 
the month of October, *L698, I sent a ducat to a poor 
and afflicted woman, who wrote me that it came to 
hand at a time when she greatly needed it, and she 
prayed God to give my poor orphans a heap of ducats 
for it. Soon after, I received from one friend two 
ducats; from another, twenty-five; from two others, 
forty-three; and from Prince Paul, of Wurtemberg, 
five hundred. When I saw all this money on the 
table before me, I could not but think of the prayer 
of the poor woman, and how literally it had been 
fulfilled. 

" In February, 1699, I was almost entirely without 
funds, though much was needed for the daily wants 
of the children and other poor. In this state of diffi- 
culty, I comforted myself with the promise of the 
Lord Jesus: 'Seek ye first the kingdom,' etc. When 
I had given out the last of our money, I prayed to 
the Lord. As I left my room, to go into the college, 
I found a student waiting for me, who put seventy 
dollars into my hands. Soon afterwards, we were in 



PRATER FOR CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 387 

the greatest want, but I trusted in the Lord, and 
determined to go to my closet and spread my wants 
before him. I arose to go to my closetj'and, while on 
my way, a letter was put into my hands from a merch- 
ant, informing me that he had received a check for a 
thousand dollars, to be paid me for the orphan house. 
How forcibly did I feel the truth of the promise: 
' Before they call, I will answer, and, while they are yet 
speaking, I will hear.' I had now no reason to ask 
for assistance, but I went to my closet and praised the 
Lord for his goodness. At another time, the superin- 
tendent of the building came to me, and asked if I 
had received any money for the payment of the labor- 
ers. ' No,' said I ; ' but I have faith in God.' Scarcely 
had I uttered these words, when some one was an- 
nounced at the door. On going to him, I found 
that he had brought me thirty dollars. I returned 
to the study, and asked the superintendent how much 
money he needed. He replied: 'Thirty dollars.' 
'There they are,' said 1. At another time of great 
need, I prayed particularly, ' Give us, this day, our 
daily bread.' I dwelt upon the words, ' this day,' for 
we needed immediate aid. While I was yet praying, 
a friend came to my door, and brought me four hun- 
dred dollars. 

" At one time, I was recounting to a Christian 
friend some of our remarkable deliverances from 
want, by v^hich he was so much affected that he 
even wept. While I was speaking, as if to confirm 
my statements, I received a letter containing a check 



388 PKAYEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 

for five hundred dollars. At another time, I was in 
need of a large sum, but did not know where to obtain 
even ten dollars. The steward came, but, having no 
money for him, I asked him to come again after din- 
ner, and, in the mean time, gave myself to prayer. 
When he came, in the afternoon, all I could do was to 
ask him to come again in the evening. In the after- 
noon I was visited by a friend, with whom I united 
in prayer to God. As I accompanied my friend to 
the door, on his departure, I found the steward stand- 
ing on one side, and on the other a person, who put 
into my hands a hundred and fifty dollars. On an- 
other occasion, the superintendent began to pay the 
laborers with only fourteen dollars, but, before he got 
through, he received enough to complete the pay- 
ments." 

The steward became so accustomed to this experi- 
ence, that when new straits came, he would remark: 
*']^ow we shall have reason, again, to admire the 
manner in which God will come to our aid." The 
institution was firmly established, and exists at this 
day on a grand scale, having sometimes three thousand 
pupils. As Professor Stowe pertinently remarks, in 
review of this narrative, " If any one can believe that 
such a long series of answers to prayer can be 
accounted for on the ground of accidental coinci- 
dences, such a man would scarcely be persuaded 
though one should rise from the dead." ' 

Louis Haems and His Missions. About the year 
1850, Louis Harms became the pastor of the humble 



PEAYER FOR CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 389 



Lutheran clmrch at Hermansburg, Germany, a rural 
village on the Liineburger Heath. From spiritual 
deadness he stirred the whole region into life. He 
also established a training mission-house, built and 
sustained a mission-ship, sent out and supported a 
large number of missionaries, set up a printing press 
to issue religious books and tracts, published a 
monthly missionary magazine, and founded local 
reformatories. In six years, the expenses thus incur- 
red were 115,676 crowns, (a crown being little more 
than a dollar,) while the receipts were 118,694 crowns. 
"Whence this income? He started with nothing, 
putting all his reliance on prayer. I prayed," said 
he, "fervently to the Lord, laid the matter in his 
hand, and as I rose up at midnight from my knees, I 
said in a voice that almost startled me in the quiet 
room, Forward now^ in ' God'' s name! From that 
moment there never came a thought of doubt into my 
mind." The result may be learned by this abridged 
extract from his own account: " It is wonderful, when 
one has nothing, and 10,000 crowns are laid in his 
hand by the dear Lord. I know from whom it all 
comes. I went to my God, and prayed diligently to 
him, and received what I needed. To the question, 
Shall we print? we did not answer. Certainly we can; 
but we cried to the Lord, Grant it to us. And he 
granted it ; for we immediately received 2,000 crowns, 
although the thought had not been known to any one; 
we had only to take and be thankful. A short timie 
ago, I had to pay a merchant, in behalf of the mis- 



390 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 



sions 550 crowns, and when the day was near I had 
only 400. Then I prayed to the Lord Jesus, that he 
would provide me with the deficiency. On the day 
before, three letters were brought; one from Schweim 
with 20, one from Biicksburg with 25, and one from 
Eerlin with 100 crowns. The donors were anony- 
mous. On the evening of the same day, a laborer 
brought me 10 crowns ; so that I had not only enough, 
but five over. I must tell you what brought tears 
into my eyes, and confirmed me anew in that word. 
'Before they call, I will answer.' A medicine-chest 
was urgently wanted for the mission. 1 reckoned up, 
to see if there was enough left to supply it. Before I 
had finished, and when I had not yet well begun to 
commend this matter to the Lord, a letter was 
brought, in which the anonymous writer stated, that 
for some time he had been collecting for the mission 
and had determined to purchase a medicine-chest. 
The chest accompanied the letter; he only begged it 
might soon be sent out to the heathen." In 1858 he 
wrote: " I needed for the mission 15,000 crowns, and 
the Lord gave me that, and 60 over. This year I 
needed double, and the Lord has given me double, and 
140 over." 

George Muller and the Bristol Orphan Houses. 
Mr. Miiller has been having a similar experience, on 
a still larger scale, at Bristol, England, where he has 
established an immense asylum for orphans, which 
is sustained wholly by contributions. Mr. Miiller 's 
own account of his aim, in starting, states: " I remem- 



PRAYER FOR CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 391 



bered what a great blessing my own soul had received, 
through the Lord's dealings with his servant, A. H. 
Franke, who, in dependence upon the living God 
alone, established an immense orphan house, which I 
had seen many times with my own eyes. I, therefore, 
judged myself bound to be the servant of the Church 
of Christ in the particular point on which I had 
obtained mercy, namely: in heing able to take God 
hy his word^ and to rely upon it. -^^ -^^ ISTow, if 
I, a poor man, simply by prayer and faith, obtained, 
without asking any individual, the means for estab- 
lishing and carrying on an orphan house, there would 
be something which, with the Lord'^ blessing, might 
be instrumental in strengthening the faith of the 
children of God, besides being a testimony to the 
consciences of the unconverted of the reality of the 
things of God. This, then, was the primary reason 
for establishing the orphan house. •55- * The first 
and primary object of the work was, and still is, that 
God might be magnified by the fact that the orphans 
under my care are provided with all they need, only 
hj prayer and faith, without any one being asked by 
me, or my fellow-laborers; whereby it may be seen 
that God is faithful still, and hears prayer still." 

From Mr. Miiller's Thirty-sixth Annual Report, 
which brings the account of the institution down to 
May 26, 1875, we learn that his faith was put to trial 
during the last year. This commenced with about 
$20,000 in the orphan-treasury; which sum, in the 
course of three months, was reduced one-half, or to 



892 PBAYER ABD ITS EEMAEKAELE ^JNSWEES. 



only enongli to meet the expenses of a single montli. 
So low the treasury liad not been for twelve years, 
although, in that time, the orphans had doubled in 
number! Yet, one month later, after that sum had 
been expended, such receipts had come in as to leave a 
balance of $48,000! Mr. MuUer adds: ^'What can- 
not God do, in answer to believing, expecting prayer? 
Dear Christian reader, seek to rely upon God increas- 
ingly, and you will see how blessed it is to do so under 
all circumstances. I have walked, by God's grace, in 
this happy road for forty-five years and six months, 
out of the forty-nine years and eight months during 
which I have be^n a believer; and on these principles, 
' Trust in the living God and prayer,' this institution 
has been carried on for forty-one years, during which 
time, without applying to any one, I have received, 
simply in answer to believing prayer, the sum of 
£665,000 ($3,325,000)." He then gives, as the results 
of the use of this money, the following: 46,400 per- 
sons taught in schools wholly sustained, besides tens 
of thousands in other schools assisted; 96,000 Bibles, 
above 247,000 Testaments, and 180,000 smaller por- 
tions of the Scriptures, circulated; above 53,500,000 
tracts and books, in various languages, distributed; 
many missionaries, of late years over 170 annually, 
assisted; 4,677 orphans cared for; and five large 
houses built, at a cost of $575,000, able to accommo- 
date 2,050 orphans. '' As to the spiritual results," 
says Mr. M., "I will here say nothing; indeed, eter- 
nity alone can unfold them; yet, even in so far as God 



PKAYEE FOE CHAKITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 393 

has been pleased to allow ns to see already the results 
of onr service, we have reaped most abundantly, and 
do so more and more, every year, whilst going on in 
the work." 

The Consijmptiyes' Home. This is an institution 
at Boston, Mass., which was established by Charles 
Cullis, M. D., eleven years since, to provide a place 
for consumptives who were in poverty, and who, as 
incurable, were not admitted to the hospitals. He 
determined to follow Mr. Miiller's plan, and solicit 
no aid from man, but build up an institution by 
prayer and faith alone. His tenth annual report, the 
latest published, at the time of writing this account, 
says: " During the past year the Lord has sent us in 
cash $22,262.48. For the ten years that the work has 
been established, without any solicitation from man, 
but in answer to prayer, God has sent the amount of 
$238,061.69. Also in answer to prayer, towards build- 
ing the Cancer House, $4,269.54." The various annual 
reports are filled with interesting details from the diary 
of Dr. Cullis, showing how the gifts dropped in vol- 
untarily from all parts of the land and the world, as 
the benevolent learned of the nature of the work, and 
how they came as they were needed, from day to day, 
in answer to prayer for the supply of specific wants. 

The Chicago Foundlings' Home. This was estab- 
lished on the same principle, by George E. Shipman, 
M. D., whom the author has known from boyhood, in 
school, college and active life. In a pamphlet of great 
interest, which gives an account of the first four yearg 



394 PKAYEK AND ITS EEMAEKABLE A^TS^VEKS. 



of the Home, Dr. Shipman says of its origin : Then 
as to the needful funds, where were they to come from? 
This was made equally clear. God gave me the work 
to do, and he would provide the means. It seemed to 
be his will, not only that a Home should be opened, 
but that it should be maintained in a manner that 
should demonstrate that he was the hearer of prayer, 
and that he was ever mindful of his promises. This 
would not be so apparent, if I depended upon beg- 
ging, for the support of the home. ^ ^ ^ j bave 
never asked anything for the Home, directly or indi- 
rectly, and have never authorized any one to solicit 
for it. Those who have given entertainments for the 
Home, of one kind or another, have done it of their 
own accord, and, in most instances, in fact, I did not 
know that they had been given till I received the 
money." Dr. Shipman's journal is filled with details 
of self-denying labor, of great straits, of earnest 
prayer, and of ultimate deliverance. The institu- 
tion has now a large and convenient building, and 
during these four years, notwithstanding the great 
fire and the financial panic two years later, the Home 
has received $23,951.06 for current expenses, and 
$29,820.21 for the building; making a total of $53,- 
771.27. At the close. Dr. Shipman says: "Can the 
candid reader peruse these pages, and deny the efficacy 
of prayer? Is there not evidence adduced sufficient 
to satisfy any one willing to be con\dnced? Repeated 
instances are given — and many more might have been 
furnished — when help has come just at a moment 



PEAYEE FOR CHAEITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 395 

of need, known to none outside of the Home, but the 
Lord himself, who sent the supply. These have occur- 
red too often to allow the supposition of an accidental 
concurrence of need and supply; if, indeed, there is 
any such thing as accident." 

It would not be proper to dismiss the case of these 
Charitable Institutions without comment upon a theory 
which has sought to establish itself upon their experi- 
ence. The theory is, that we ought not to solicit bene- 
factions, to aid a religious or charitable cause; but 
should allow the work to make its silent appeal to 
men, while we utter its wants in the ear of God, and 
trust to his providence alone to send the supply. This 
is considered the true method of faith; and there is a 
disposition to claim for it a superiority over other 
methods, and even to demand that it should be adopted 
as the only really Christian method. On what possi- 
ble ground of reason, or Scripture, is such a doctrine 
based? Let us see. 

1. There would appear to be nothing in the reason 
of the case to warrant it. Solicitation is a natural act, 
in case of want. The poor solicit aid of the rich, the 
child of the parent, man of God. Why should there 
be less reason, or more harm, in soliciting for another, 
or for a cause which represents the wants of many, 
than for oneself ? Moreover, if all should be infinenced 
by love, and if it is really a privilege to share our 
blessings with the less favored, and especially with the 
suffering, then others may be said to have a moral 
claim on us to let them know of the necessities of the 



396 PKATEK AND ITS EEMAKKABLE ANSWERS. 

poor. How are tliej to act, if left in ignorance of the 
facts? Can the benevolent do good, without knowing 
of the opportunity? Solicitation, rightly performed, 
is simply diffusing a knowledge of human need, and 
providing an opportunity for its supply. If it were 
not God's plan, to use men to bless men, that the ben- 
efactor might have a benefit as well as the beneficiary, 
there might be reason in the idea, that our appeal 
should be made only to God. But as he uses others 
to aid us, so he uses us to furnish them with the oppor- 
tunity to do good. Why should not his Holy Spirit 
inspire an appeal to them, in behalf of his poor, or of 
his cause, as well as inspire their readiness to contrib- 
ute needed aid? The mistaken theory puts singular 
limitations on the action of the Holy Spirit, as if he 
could move men to give, but not to solicit! 

And if men are reluctant to perform the duty of 
giving, if they have never awaked to the privilege of 
using money for the promotion of the happiness and 
well being of others, we owe it to their souls, to culti- 
vate in them the grace of liberality. And this is to be 
done by public and private instruction; by the present- 
ment of motives; by personal example and influence; 
by an array of convincing and persuasive facts. 
J^othing could be a better means of grace to such souls, 
than to be solicited to take part in a work of benefi- 
cence, by those who will press the subject upon the 
conscience and heart on truly Christian grounds. To 
refuse to solicit from them, is to let them alon© in 
their sin! 



PEAYEK FOE CHAEITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 397 

And how does reason sanction making a distinction 
between obtaining money for God's cause, and aiding 
it in other ways? What is there so peculiar in the 
nature and relations of money, that we must only pray 
for it, in behalf of a good object, but must never solicit 
it from those to whom God has, in his providence 
entrusted it; while in all other matters, no one thinks 
it right to pray, without also putting forth the appro- 
priate effort? If we pray for the conversion of a man, 
we feel bound to labor for it, also, if that be possible. 
"We consider it an inconsistency to neglect the action, 
and rely only on the prayer, in such a case. We tell 
the farmer to pray for a harvest, and to feel his 
dependence on God for it; but we likewise insist that 
he 'must use the legitimate means, and plough, and 
sow, and cultivate his land, expecting God's blessing 
• to come in connection with these wise efforts. What 
authorizes us to take the matter of benefactions out 
from under the rule, that prayer and human effort must 
co-operate ? 

2. There would seem to be nothing in Scripture to 
uphold the theory in question. It bids us pray in 
faith; but it also tells us to labor in faith, and assures 
us, that " faith without works is dead." When Jesus 
needed an ass-colt on which to ride, as he came to 
Jerusalem, he sent two of his disciples to obtain it, 
charging them to say to the owners: ''The Lord hath 
need of it." It is really performing the same deed, 
if, in this day we go to a man for five dollars, or ten 
dollars, or a hundred dollars, in behalf of a good object, 



398 PEAYEE AKD ITS EEMAEKABLE A:NSWEES. 



telling liim, in like manner, The Lord hatli need of 
it!" Wlien Paul wrote to the Galatians, of the way 
in which James, Cephas and John gave the right hand 
of fellowship to him and to Barnabas, when about to 
go on a mission to the G-en tiles, he sajs: Only they 
would that we should remember the poor; the same 
which I also was forward to do." That is, they re- 
quested Paul, to present the wants of the poor saints 
at Jerusalem to the Gentile churches, and to secure 
collections on their behalf ; and he tells the Galatians 
that he was "forward to do " this work of solicitation. 
And from his appeals on the subject in his various 
epistles (Ptom. xv: 26, 1 Cor. xvi: 1-3, 2 Cor. viii: 1-15, 
ix:l-9) we learn how true this was. He considered 
himself the agent of the Jerusalem-poor, and earnestly 
pleaded their cause. Why should we fear to imitate 
the apostle, in behalf of the poor of our day ? 

3. There would seem to be nothing in the history 
of Christian beneficence, to supjDort this theory of non- 
solicitation. It is true, that large institutions have 
been established by gifts voluntarily sent in; as we 
have seen in the case of the orphan-houses of Miiller, 
the Consumptives' Home at Boston, and the Pound- 
lings Home at Chicago. But then thousands of chari- 
table institutions have also been established through 
Christian solicitation, in which good men have car- 
ried their object before God, in their closets, beseech- 
ing him to oj)en men's hearts, and to prepare the way 
for the application that was to be made, and to aid 
them in pleadiug his cause against the prejudices and 



PEAYER FOR CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. 399 

the avarice of men. And tliese prayers were signally 
answered. God enabled them to speak for him and 
for his poor, and he led men to respond with unex- 
pected and unwonted generosity to their appeals. They 
thus did a woi'k of faith and prayer. 

Moreover, it can hardly be claimed with accuracy, 
that the institutions so often referred to, as established 
and supported by prayer and faith only, were not 
indebted to any soliciting agency. There may be the 
thing without the name. It may be by printed state- 
ments, when there are no verbal appeals. One insti- 
tution may send out an agent, to relate the story of 
its necessities and invite charitable people to con- 
tribute; and another may rely on an annual or monthly 
printed report, which tells of its work, its need and 
its receipts, and that it depends wholly upon what the 
charitable may be inclined to send to it. It is difficult 
to see the radical difference between the two methods ; 
especially if, in the latter case, the friends of the insti- 
tution solicit in its behalf, as individuals, among their 
acquaintances, and remit the amount collected. The 
sensible thing, on any plan, is, to get the facts clearly 
and fully before the benevolent, that there may be 
a chance for sympathy and for charitable aid. This is 
accomplished in both classes of institutions; and the 
delusion is a mild and harmless one, if one class sup- 
poses itself to be indebted only to prayer. 

But do not the so-called faith-institutions teach us 
some important lessons? Yes; they impress, clearly, 
certain truths, which, though connected with other 



400 PKATER AND ITS KEMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

methods also, need to be specially emphasized. Their 
success shows the readiness of God to respond to 
prayer, and to put honor on faith. Straits often 
come for which human wisdom cannot provide, and 
then prayer brings divine aid. Effort is to be used, 
when possible; but if . circumstance forbid it, the 
appeal may be made to God. Mr. Miiller, Dr. Cullis, 
and others, feel that their whole tim^e and strength are 
needed to conduct the internal affairs of their institu- 
tions ; and that being so, God will provide the external 
help through the agency of others. Their success 
also demonstrates the needlessriess of relying on any 
but Christian motives and instrumentalities, and is a 
proper protest against the use of dubious and evil 
methods of inducing men to contribute to charitable 
causes. A genuine work is its own best recommend- 
ation, and God will use the simple statement of the 
facts, to draw forth the needed pecuniary aid, without 
a recourse to motives of pride, ambition, ostentation, 
sectarian zeal, or other selfish principle. We may be 
thankful that an example has been set in favor of a 
gospel simplicity of method and motive, even if some 
distinctions are made without a difference. 

My God! is any hour so sweet, 
From blush of morn to evening star, 
As that which calls me to my feet — 
The hour of prayer? 

Lord! till I reach that blissful shore, 
No privilege so dear shall be, 
As thus my inmost soul to pour 
In prayer to Thee! 

— Charlotte Elliott. 



CHAPTEE XX. 

REVIEW OF THE FAGT8 — CONCLUSION: 

That it may not be supposed that the author is igno- 
rant of the objections that may be urged to such a 
collection of facts as has been presented, or that he 
fears to face them, he will here insert a letter received 
from Kev. Thomas K. Beecher, in answer to a circular 
note sent to him, among a number of others, asking 
for facts of interest which might illustrate the power 
of prayer. 

" In all soberness, I want to suggest to you whether 
the very tenor of your circular-note to me, and the 
object you have in preparing your book on prayer, 
does not contain its own refutation. It appears that, 
although there are thousands close round about you 
who are praying every day, yet the answers are so 
scarce, that you have need to cover a great area to get 
your evidence. To make my meaning plain, the Bible 
says seed-time and harvest shall not fail. Suppose, 
now, that, in order to prove that seed-time and har- 
vest do not fail, you found it necessary to write 
to intelligent farmers, all over the land, to get 
statements of here and there a successful harvest, 
while ten thousand farmers in the adjacent counties 
of Illinois were mourning short crops — subtautial 
17* (401) 



402 PKAYEE AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEES. 

failures. The twenty, or two hundred, or two thou- 
sand, rich harvests, gathered up from a continental 
area, would be no evidence that seed-time and harvest, 
as a general rule, do not fail. I am a little out, dear 
brother, with this prayer-controversy, on both sides. 
For, wherever I go, I find that the Christian world is 
always sticking that man, Miiller, in my face, as a 
proof that God does answer prayer. Millions of 
saints praying, all over the world, and when I ask, 'Are 
your prayers answered? ' they say, ' There's Miiller, at 
Bristol; see how his prayers are answered! ' My dear 
brother, in your church, and in my church, and in 
every church in the land. Christian women are pray- 
ing for their sons and husbands, and their prayers are 
not answered. If you want to make your book per- 
fectly fair, you ought, it seems to me, to take a given 
area, say three churches in Chicago, and get a state- 
ment: first, as to the total amount of praying; second, 
the total amount of failure; and, third, the total 
amount of answering." 

l^either the inquiry made for illustrative facts, nor 
the object of this book, implies any scarcity of answers 
to true prayer. The author holds, on the contrary, 
that oM true prayer is answered. But the ordi- 
nary use of prayer is so blended with every other 
part of the life and action of a Christian, while the 
answers are so varied in form, and received in a way 
so closely connected with human agency, that no one 
can draw the line between the influence of prayer and 
that of other instrumentalities. If one were required 



EEVIEW OF THE FACTS CONCLUSION. 403 



to define exactly what proportion of strength was due 
to respiration of pure air, in distinction from the 
effect of food and exercise, of light and warmth, it 
would puzzle him to answer, though he might have 
no doubt of the necessity of such respiration. It 
might help him, however, were certain striking cases 
presented, in which persons previously ailing had 
received decided and speedy benefit by changing from 
the atmosphere of a low, malarious district to that of 
a mountainous region. And so, while prayer is daily 
and hourly bringing ten thousand answers, as every 
spiritual Christian knows, it is not easy to distinguish, 
for the benefit of an unbeliever, its efiect from the 
coincident influence of other temporal and spiritual 
causes. Yet, while this is the common rule of divine 
procedure, there occur partial exceptions, meeting 
peculiar exigencies in life, which are sufficiently 
numerous and striking, to indicate clearly a divine 
agency in response to human petition. These serve 
an important purpose in encouraging doubting saints, 
and in inducing thought in skeptics and scoffers. 

The writer of the letter apparently falls (at least 
his objection does) into the same error with the skep- 
tical physicists, exposed in the seventh chapter; in 
that he assumes that the answers to prayer are capa- 
ble of being ascertained and tested in a tangible and 
mechanical way, as are the effects of physical forces. 
Otherwise, why should he suppose, or think that the 
author of this book supposes, that the vast proportion 
of the prayers offered are not answered? Why make 



401 PEAYER AXD ITS EE^EKAELE AXSWEES. 



tlie absurd suggestion of taking three clinrclies, and 
ascertaining tlie nnmher of prayers offered, and the 
proportion of the answered to the non-answered? 
Who conld possibly nnmber the petitions of the 
members of three churches? ~\Yho could tell how 
many of them complied with the spiritual conditions 
of success, so as to be true prayers, in the sense of 
the Biblical declarations and promises? TTho could 
understand the forms in which God might see fit to 
send the answers? Prayer deals with subtle, spiritual 
forces, as to its moral conditions, and largely also as 
to its immediate and ultimate effects. And these 
cannot be seen and handled, weighed and measured, 
like the crops of a farmer. Hence the agricultural 
illustration need not stumble the thoughtful reader. 

Indeed, it maybe put to use on the oiher side. Let 
it be supposed that a new territory has been opened 
to settlement. An experienced scientific agriculturist 
states that abundant harvests can be secured by atten- 
tion to deep ploughing, steady cultivation of the grow- 
ing crops, and a proper system of irrigation. Soon 
a hundred thousand settlers have made their homes 
there, and begun to till their farms. At the end of 
the year, a complaint arises that no crops can be relied 
upon in that territory, and the scientific agricuJturist 
is accused of making false statements. "What does 
he, to disprove the charge? Finding that the mass of 
the immigrants have paid little or no attention to his 
carefully stated directions, and therefore have raised 
small crops, and in some cases have failed to secure 



EEVIEW OF THE FACTS CONCLUSION. 405 

any, he does not trouble himself to publish their 
experience; for it really has no bearing on the qnes- 
tion. He sends to a hundred farmers, of whose dil- 
igence and care he has knowledge, and requests them 
to testify what their experience has been. Tliey state 
that they followed with exactness the rules which he 
laid down — they ploughed the land as deeply as they 
could turn a furrow; they put in their choice seed; 
they kept down the weeds; they resorted to timely 
and abundant irrigation — and they secured rich har- 
vests. Would the publication of such testimony be 
worthless? Could the alleged barrenness of the lands 
of other farmers avail as a contradiction, until it 
should first be proved as a fact, and should tlien be 
shown to have followed a faithful compliance with 
the directions originally given? 

ITow the truth is, tiiat there are prayers and prayers. 
Multitudes " say a prayer," who yet do no praying. 
Many Christians and churches also pray so defectively, 
as to strength of desire, importunity, faith, consecra- 
tion and other required conditions, that they do not 
come within the scope of the Scriptural promises. 
What is their experience worth, then, in the matter 
before us? It should not be said that their praj^ers 
are not answered ; but that they do not pray — in the 
Bible-sense. Yet their apparent failure fills their 
minds with doubt as to the real power of prayer. 
Skeptics, likewise, stumble over the seemingly vain 
petitions. Tbus there comes to be a pervading unbe- 
lief on the subject, outside of the church, and a paral- 



406 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

yzing uncertainty, inside of it. This grieves tlie Holy 
Spirit of God; this dishonors the name of Christ; this 
reflects upon the love and faithfulness of our Heavenly 
Father. The result is spiritual barrenness, as to char- 
acter and influence. Worldliness prevails, backsliding 
is common, and revivals are few and feeble. 

In such circumstances, it is well to aid a weak faith, 
first by clearly defining the meaning and operation of 
prayer, and secondly by citing such marked instances 
of its value, as will illustrate its methods, and vindi- 
cate the fidelity of God to his promises. This has 
been the author's aim in these pages, and he must 
believe, that no one can read what has been here 
declared, without finding his faith quickened, and his 
closet made more attractive. It is not possible to 
transfer to print the daily experience of the man who 
lives by prayer, and receives perpetual answers amid 
life's multitudinous events. Another cannot see 
with his eyes, any more than love and trust with his 
heart. But occasionally a crisis occurs ; a particular 
want, or danger, or trial stands out with great distinct- 
ness, and human help is unavailing. Then an appeal 
is made to God, in the name of Christ, under the inspir- 
ation of the Holy Ghost, and in the use of the divinely 
appointed instrumentality of prayer. The relief comes 
so adequately, as to time and measure and means, that 
even a mere spectator can see that the hand of God is 
in it. 

Daniel had prayed, for years, and y^t his enemies 
were not convinced that there was any power in his 



EEYISW OF THE FACTS CONCLUSION. 407 

supplications. Grod suffered tliem to put his prayers to 
the test in the den of lions; and there came such a 
signal deliverance that, "King Darius wrote unto all 
people, nations and languages, that dwelt in all the 
earth: Peace be multiplied unto you! I make a 
decree, that in every dominion of my kingdom men 
tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; for he is 
the living God, and steadfast forever, and his kingdom 
that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion 
shall be even unto the end: he delivereth and rescuetli, 
and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in 
earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of 
the lions." 

It probably never occurred to any one, that to put 
this striking fact on record, was to imply that ordina- 
rily prayer was not heard. It remained for a modern 
minister to fall into so strange a misinterpretation of 
a narrative of marked answers to prayer! Others, 
blessed with a better vision, behold the illustration of 
divine power and love, and the encouragement of 
human faith. To those who still imagine a multitude 
of seemingly unanswered prayers to be among the 
unaccountable phenomena, we commend the significant 
words of James : " Ye ask, and receive not, because ye 
ask amiss;" and the suggestive lines of one of the 
quaint and godly poets of the olden time: 

Poor heart lament ; 
For since tliy God refuseth still, 
There is some rub, some discontent, 

Whicli cools his will. 



408 PEATER AND ITS EEMAEKABLE ANSWEESo 



Thy Father could 
Quickly effect, what thou dost move ; 
For he is Power; and sure he would; 

For he is Love. 

Go search this thing ; 
Humble thy breast, and turn thy book ; 
If thou hadst lost a glove or ring, 

Wouldst thou not look ? . 

What do I see 
Written above there ? Yesterday , 
I did behave me carelessly^ 

When I did pray. 

And should God's ear 
To such indifferents chained be, 
Who do not their own motions hear ? 

Is God less free ? 

But stay ! what's there ? 
Late, when I would have something done, 
I had a motion to forbear! 

Yet I went on. 

And should God's care, 
Which needs not man, be tied to those 
Who hear not him, but quickly hear 

His utter foes ? > 

Then once more pray : 
Down with thy knees ; up with thy voice ; 
Seek pardon first; and God, will say; 

Glad heart rejoice! 

—George Herbert 



SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER, No. I, 



THE CREDULITY OF SKEPTICISM. 

The skeptics so often make themselves merry over 
the credulity of Christians, v/ho put faith in the power 
of prayer, that it may not be unwise to turn the tables 
upon them. Let us notice, then, the eagerness with 
which they believe absurdity in their efforts to escape 
the authority of revealed religion. 

1. An initial credulity is revealed in the supposition 
that, in dropping Christianity, they drop the principal 
difficulties of religion, and can now make rapid progress 
towards a simple and satisfactory faith. Such an idea 
can be entertained only by those who accept with easy 
credence the representations of deistical writers and 
lecturers, who argue that Christianity is the grand 
obstacle in the way of the universal adoption of the 
few and obvious teachings of Natural Religion ; that 
the mystery is made by the doctrines of the Bible on 
the subject of Sin and Death, of Trinity and Incarna- 
tion, of Atonement and Regeneration, of Heaven and 
Hell. We commend to them the remark of Sir Wm. 
Hamilton, the celebrated Scotch metaphysician, that 
" no difficulty emerges in theology which had not pre- 
viously emerged in philosophy." Hamilton's remark 
implies that the difficulties which have perplexed theo- 

18 (409) 



410 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

logians are inherent in the facts which we are com- 
pelled to face, whether we accept the Bible or not. 
The object of the Bible is, to help men to understand 
the mystery in which they find themselves involved 
as a conscious, thinking part of the universe. The 
mystery is only the deeper if we push aside the 
inspired book. A company of travelers in a pathless 
w^ilderness may lose faith in the guide who conducts 
them on their way ; but it were absurd for them to 
suppose that, if once rid of their guide, ^11 perplexities 
and perils would be at an end. And so, upon our 
spiritual journey, dismiss our guide, and here are still 
our doubts and dangers. We want to know about our 
Maker, his character, law, and purposes ; and about 
ourselves, our sin, our possible destiny, the way of 
forgiveness and of purification, and the assurance of a 
blessed immortality. Will any one but a fool believe 
that these are small matters, or easy to be under- 
stood ? 

2. A further credulity/ has sometimes come out in a 
special endeavor of skeptics to assure themselves that they 
were on the right road for this life and the next. In 
such a case, a man's wishes largely control his vision 
and his judgment. The application of this to the case 
of an apparently sincere skeptic may be seen from the 
experience of Lord Herbert, a famous English Deist, 
vv^ho, in 1645, pubhshed his book ''Be Veritate;' in 
which he argued for the excellence of the universal 
religion of nature, the five principles of which he 
stated. He was almost the father of pronounced skep- 



THE CREDULITY OF SKEPTICISM. 411 



ticism in Great Britain. Let us hear his own account 
of a certain occurrence (see Lord Herbert's Autobiog- 
raphy, p. 93) : " Being thus doubtful, in my chamber, 
one fair day in the summer, my casement being open 
towards the south, the sun shining clear, and no 
wind stirring, I took my book, ' Be Veritate,' in my 
hands, and kneeling upon my knees, devoutly said 
these words : ' 0 thou eternal God, author of this light 
which now shines upon me, and giver of all inward 
illuminations, I do beseech thee, of thine infinite good- 
ness, to pardon a greater request than a sinner ought 
to make. I am not satisfied enough, wliether J shall 
publish this book. If ft be for thy glory, I beseech 
thee, give me some sign from heaven ; if not, I shall 
suppress it.' 1 had no sooner spoken these words, 
than a loud though gentle noiso came forth from the 
heavens (for it was like nothing on earth), which did 
so cheer and comfort me, that I took my petition as 
granted, and that I had the sign I demanded ; where- 
upon also I resolved to print my book. This, how 
strange soever it may seem, I protest before the Eter- 
nal God, is true ; neither am I any wayosuperstitiously 
deceived herein ; since I did not only clearly hear the 
noise ; but, in the serenest sky that ever I saw, being 
without all cloud, did to my thinking, see the place 
from whence it came." 

While it is difficult to preserve a grave face in 
reading this account, one need not doubt, in the least, 
the sincerity of Lord Herbert. It is only remarkable 
that an intelligent and even learned man, who could 



412 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

not see sufficient evidence that Moses and David, 
Isaiah and Daniel, Paul and John had received com- 
munications from the Author of truth, and had had 
signs granted in attestation thereof, could be satisfied 
that a "loud though gentle noise" (whatever that 
may be), heard just after his prayer, must be a divine 
endorsement of his book. The only evidence was 
that it came at that moment, was of unusual character, 
seemed to be from above, and proceeded from a clear 
sky. A doubter might have suggested that he could 
only see a part oi the sky from his chamber window ; 
that possibly a distant thunder-cloud lay low down on 
the horizon, on the opposite side of the house ; that 
one's imagination controls the idea of direction ; that 
it is rather absurd to mix two senses, and to say of a 
sound, that one could " see the place from whence it 
came " ; that as sounds often occur which we cannot 
at the moment trace, it is hardly safe to think that 
they are supernatural ; and that if God meant to 
express approbation of so important an undertaking, 
it was probable that his manner of utterance would be 
less ambiguous, and would even be by intelligible 
words. But here was a man, so at war with super- 
naturalism that he could not accept of the Bible as a 
revelation from God, imagining a revelation made to 
himself ! And obviously the idea arose from a con- 
viction that it was a very solemn and responsible 
thing to furnish men with a religion, as he was virtu- 
ally doing in his book, "De Veritate^^^ and that he 
ought to h^ive a divine warrant for it. The reasoning 



THE CREDULITY OF SKEPTICISM. 413 

was not so bad in itself, and it coincides with the 
argument that men need a revelation, and that such a 
revelation sliould be supernaturally attested. 

The same credulous tendency shows itself in the 
superstitious practices of skeptics in matters personal 
to themselves. Those who are not as devout as Lord 
Herbert, and have no faith in prayer, feeling the pres- 
sure of uncertainty and perplexity, at various points 
of life, of course do not ask God for direction; that 
would be copying the fanatical folly of Christians. So 
they resort to other devices. For instance^ Goethe, at 
the beginning of his career, and after he had ceased 
to have faith in the Bible, was in serious doubt whether 
or not to devote himself to art, for which he had quite 
a passion. As he was walking by the river Lahn, he 
hit upon this very "philosophic" and "rational" 
method of deciding the matter, as described by one of 
his biographers, Mr. Lewes (Book III), himself a 
skeptic : " The river glided beneath, now flashing in 
the sunlight, now partially concealed by willows. 
Taking a knife from his pocket, [one would think that 
a stone from the roadside would have done as well, 
and would have been more economical, but possibly 
the secret charm of the operation required the use of 
an article from his person,] he flung it with his left 
hand [probably that was another condition essential 
to success,] into the river, having previously resolved 
that if he saw it fall he was to become an artist ; but 
if the sinking knife were concealed by the willows, he 
was to abandon the idea. No ancient oracle was .ever 



414 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 



more ambiguous than the answer now given him. The 
willows concealed the sinking knife, but the water 
splashed up like a fountain, and was distinctly visible. 
So indefinite an answer left him in doubt." And so 
the world can never know what consequences resulted 
from the failure of that left-handed experiment. 

Somehow, where philosophy has slain religious faith 
in the breast of the skeptic, puerile superstition sur- 
vives. Thus Macaulay tells us (Essay on " Frederic 
the Great "), concerning the marquis D'Argens, one 
of the " philosophic " courtiers of Frederic II. of 
Prussia, a man of literary mark in his day, author of 
" L'Histoire de I'Esprit Humain," and of " Lettres 
Juives, Chinoises et Cabalestiques," that " his was one of 
that abject class of minds which are superstitious 
without being religious ; " that he was a man " hating 
Christianity with a rancor that made him incapable of 
rational inquiry," and yet was at the same time the 
slave of dreams and omens ; refusing to sit down to 
table with thirteen in company, turning pale if the 
salt fell towards himself, begging his guests not to 
cross their knives and forks on their plates, and never 
for the world commencing a journey on a Friday." 
Yoltaire is also said to have been characterized by 
striking and puerile superstitions, while Thomas Hobbes, 
" the philosopher of Malmsbury," author of the famous 
infidel book, entitled " The Leviathan," and a bitter 
ridiculer of the belief in witchcraft, is reported to 
have been afraid to be left alone in a house at night, 
and to have once leaped in fright from a bath, to avoid 



THE CREDULITY OF SKEPTICISM. 415' 

a supposed gliost ! Montaigne saw grave disaster in 
drawing on the left stocking first. But Rousseau was 
as curious an instance as any, of the working of this 
credulous tendency in the skeptic. When he was liv- 
ing with Madame de Warens, in the beautiful rural 
retreat known as Les Charmettes, where his relations 
with her were more intimate than moral, he became 
troubled with regard to his own future fate ; for he 
believed in a heaven for the good, and a hell for the 
wicked. And so, as he tells us in his " Confessions " 
(VI.), he resolved to test the matter, and hit upon a 
method much like that which Goethe employed, on a 
subsequent occasion. He selected a tree, at which to 
throw a stone : if he hit, it meant salvation ; if he 
missed, it meant perdition ! And so, as John Morley 
says, " with a trembling hand and a beating heart he 
threw," and all was well ! But he explains, in his 
own account of the matter, the device to ensure a safe 
decision, which shows how closely trickery, self decep- 
tion, and superstition are allied ; for he says " Ce qui, 
veritable ment, n'etait pas difficile ; car j' avals eu le 
soin de le choisir fort gros et fort pr^s," — "this was not 
indeed difficult, for I took care to select a tree that 
was very large and very near ; " and he adds, in a 
curious tone of self mockery, " depuis lors je n'ai plus 
dout^ de mon salut I — since that time I have had no 
doubt of my salvation I " 

Lord Byron was another examyjle of a credulous 
skeptic, as we learn from Dr. J. Millingcn's " Remin- 
iscences " (^New Bnglander^ Sept., 1879). Byron re- 



416 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

marked to the Dr. : "To say the truth, I find it 
equally difficult to know what to believe in this world, 
and what not to believe. There are as many plausible 
reasons for inducing one to die a bigot, as there have 
been to make me hitherto live a freethinker. You 
will, I know, ridicule my belief in lucky and unlucky 
days ; but no consideration can now induce me to un- 
dertake anything either on a Friday or on a Sunday. I am 
positive it would terminate unfortunately. Every one 
of my misfortunes, and God knows I have had my 
share, have happened to me on one of those days." 
Dr. M. also says, that Byron requested him to inquire 
in the town, for any very old and ugly witch. "As I 
turned his request in derision, he said, with a serious 
air : ' Never mind whether I am superstitious or not, 
but I again entreat of you to bring me the most cel- 
ebrated one there is, in order that she may examine 
whether this sudden loss of my health does not depend 
on the evil eye. She may devise some means to dis- 
solve the spell.' " 

3. Skeptical credulity appears in the character of 
the new metaphysical theories into ivhich men rush as a 
substitute for a Christian philosophy. I can only hint 
at tlie facts, for this is not the place to review systems 
of metaphysics. In the view of common sense, with 
its brief processes, as well as of philosophical discus- 
sion, certain positions taken by leading writers of tlie 
skeptical school are so extreme as to carry absurdity 
on their very front, and to excite surprise that learned 
and acute men should bring themselves to such con- 



THE CREDULITY OF SKEPTICISM. 



417 



elusions. John Stuart Mill is an author of whom 
skeptics have been wont to boast. And certainly his 
calmness, his air of candor, his wide learning, his 
mental acuteness, his seeming independence, and his 
literary celebrity have united to give power to his 
opinions. He has told us, in his autobiography, with 
what care his philosophic infidel father, John Mill, 
secluded him from Christian influences, and trained 
him to religious skepticism. At the basis of such 
skepticism, alike on the part of his father and of him- 
self, was a metaphysical system of rankest sensation- 
alism. To support the system, it was necessary to 
derive all ideas from sensation and association, — a 
source fruitful of limitation and doubt. But this re- 
quired the bold denial of all the intuitions of the reason 
as to necessary or universal truths ; a position whicli 
overturns the very foundations of philosophy, as well 
as of theology. For logically it sweeps away the idea 
of the infinite, of time, of space, of substance, of 
freedom, of moral law and conscience, of cause, and 
of whatever else cannot be deduced from sensations, 
and proved by experiment. Among the other victims 
of this ruthless and suicidal philosophy were the ab- 
stract and religiously harmless axioms and definitions 
of geometry. These had been supposed to be affirma- 
tions of the pure reason, made by direct intuition of 
their truth, or plain mental vision of the inherent ab- 
surdity of their denial. Not that the ideas were 
strictly innate, born in the babe, and slumbering for a 
while, till the infant mathematician awoke ; but that 



418 PEAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

they were such necessary and eternal truths that they 
shone by their own light, without need or possibility 
of argumentation, the moment an occasion served to 
bring them forward. They were thus logically intui- 
tive. But Mr. Mill and a few other skeptical reasoners 
sank into the fatuity of believing that it must be, that 
even geometrical axioms and definitions are derived 
from earthly experiments, and, for aught we know, 
may not hold true universally ! 

It would seem as if reasoning were wasted in trying 
to meet such a statement. For common sense tells 
ordinary men, that all the experiment in the world, 
continued for ages, would add absolutely nothing to 
the conviction which every man feels instantly, when 
it is announced, that " Things which are equal to the 
same thing are equal to each other; " that The whole 
is greater than any of its parts;" that ''The whole 
is equal to the sum of its parts;" and that "From 
one point to another only one straight line can be 
drawn." If the truth conveyed by any of these or 
similar axioms is ever seen, it is seen at the moment 
the idea is perceived, and no argument can do more 
than restate the simple affirmation ; while no experi- 
ment adds the least additional force. A child knows 
before he divides an apple, that the whole apple is 
larger than any part of it will be, and that it will con- 
tain or be equal to all its parts, quite as well as 
after he has cut it up and distributed the parts to his 
playmates! If he did not, we should pronounce him 
a fool ! He may have been led to think of the matter 



THE CREDULITY OF SKEPTICISM. 



419 



by looking at the parts of an apple ; for something 
must be an occasion to suggest every new idea, as 
well as to call up every old one ; but the looking, in 
that case, could not prove the universal truth, which 
could only come from the instant affirmation of the 
reason, independently of experiment. When it is 
declared that two straight lines which intersect, will 
never meet again, if infinitely prolonged, we neither 
logically derive the idea from measurement or inspec- 
tion, nor could possibly prove it by experiment. Tlie 
same is true of the statement that two parallel straight 
lines will never meet, however far produced. Who 
needs to measure an inch in length to see this, or who 
would be any more sure of it, were two such lines 
measured for a mile, or examined as far as from the 
earth to the most distant visible star? When skeptics 
fall to doubting intuitive convictions, and begin to 
query whether, in some other world, arranged on dif- 
ferent principles, a mind might not see that 2 + 2=5 
instead of 4, it is time for us to turn from them to 
sane men ; for their state of mind cannot be matched 
outside of Bedlam. Credulity and incredulity have 
become the same thing. 

4. Skeptical credulity further appears from the facile 
manner in which new physical theories are embraced as 
supports of infidel positions on the subject of religion. 
No truly philosophic mind hastens to a conclusion 
amid conflicting evidence, or when a new case is 
presented. Caution is eminently a characteristic of 
science, and becomes more and more such, as timo 



.420 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

reveals the imperfection or baselessness of former 
theories, and the incorrectness of early observations 
of phenomena. Hence the experienced savant is not 
easily made an enthusiast over a novel hypothesis, 
though many plausible things should be advanced in 
its behalf. His chronic incredulity even becomes pro- 
verbial among his acquaintance. But the sciolist 
readily falls into the trap, and goes off in an ecstasy, 
from which he often subsides into grief ! Here is 
where the skeptic is ever in danger, and his pathway 
in the past has led through the pitfalls of rash physi- 
cal theories, into which he has quite eagerly fallen, 
and from which he has emerged a sadder but not 
always a wiser man. For it is notorious, that he is 
always on tlie watch for a scientific discovery that 
shall give the coup de grace to Christianity, and is 
sure that he reads the death-warrant of the gospel in 
every newspaper paragraph which announces fresh 
evidence in favor of spontaneous generation, or of the 
extreme antiquity of man, or of the development of 
one species from another by a law of natural selection. 
The credulity comes out, not in a readiness to accept 
new truth, which all ought to exhibit, but in a rash 
haste to adopt theories, or to believe asserted facts, 
which favor an infidel cosmogony. His bias is so 
strong, that he jumps at conclusions in a manner that 
manifests a marvelous credulity in respect to any fact 
or theory which can be pressed into the service of 
unbelief. 

We do not know that infidels nourish any grudge 



THE CREDULITY OF SKEPTICISM, 



421 



against mathematical professors, as well as ngainst 
theologians yet it is a fact, not only that Mr. Mills 
denied the necessary validity of the axioms and defi- 
nitions of geometry, and thus remanded the wliole of 
the deductions therefrom to a mere hypothetical con- 
clusiveness, but that his philosophical predecessor, 
Thomas Hobbes, fell into a controversy of years, of 
which his biographer in the Encylcopedia Britannica 
says: "It is remarkable that, with his clear and subtle 
intellect, it was from a misconception of some of the 
most elementary truths of mathematics, that he kept 
up his great war with Dr. Wallis, Professor of Mathe- 
matics at Oxford." And so David Hume tried his 
hand, a little gently, as if not quite sure of his ground, 
at casting doubt upon mathematical certainties, rather 
than allow a chance for religious verities. But Vol- 
taire had no scruples in inventing a theory to account 
for physical phenomena which stood in his way, and 
he could believe anything which answered an irreli- 
gious purpose. Thus, knowing that shells had been 
found on the tops of mountains, and that it had been 
argued that this was proof of some kind of a deluge, 
or submersion of the continent, he gravely argued, in 
his Philosophical Dictionary, that such shells were 
probably dropped by returning pilgrims, or that they 
might be snail shells ! But remembering the existence 
of petrifactions in other places, he said : " 1 deny not 
that a hundred miles from the sea we meet with petri- 
fied oysters, conchs, univalves, productions which 
perfectly resemble marine ones ; but arc we sure that 



422 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

the soil of the earth may not produce these fossils ? 
The formation of vegetable agate [moss-agate, he per- 
haps had in mind] should make us suspend our judg- 
ment. A tree did not bear the agate, which is like 
the product of a tree ; and the sea may not have pro- 
duced the fossil shells which seem to be those of little 
marine animals." Now if a theologian had written 
that, we should never have heard the last of the 
credulity of his class ! And yet this ready believer of 
physical absurdities could be so incredulous as to the 
value of evidence in favor of Christianity, that he 
wrote to D'Alembert : " If a hundred thousand men 
were to assure me, that they all with their own eyes 
saw a dead man raised, I should say that they were 
all dazed." 

In our own days, the skeptics have grasped greedily 
at every new surmise, or wild guess, made by any 
ambitious scientist, who was eager to identify his name 
with the progress of science, in the hot competition 
which has existed for its honors. Thus, no sooner 
was a human skeleton found imbedded in limestone, 
in Guadaloupe, than the skeptics pronounced it a 
refutation of Genesis ; only to learn, subsequently, 
that the limestone was a recent surface-formation, and 
the bones were those of a Carib Indian I When in 
1853-4 a drought in Switzerland lowered the lakes, 
ancient habitations were discovered that had been built 
on piles out in the water, to secure them from attack, 
and the skeptics inferred from these and the bronze 
and stone tools and other relics dredged up around 



THE CREDULITY OF SKEPTICISM. 



423 



them, that the builders had lived from 8,000 to 11,000 
years since. They were disgusted, afterwards, to find 
that Herodotus mentions just such dwellings in ancient 
Thrace ; that they were known but a few centuries 
since in Scotland and Ireland ; and that they now 
exist in New Guinea and Malacca ; while rude imple- 
ments in one locality have been contemporaneous with 
civilization elsewhere, in all ages, and indicate no 
high antiquity. Similarly skeptical haste has credul- 
ously swallowed the most extreme chronological infer- 
ences from bones found with extinct fossils in or 
under peat beds, Mississippi delta soil, cypress forests 
accumulated beneath the surface, layers of river gravel, 
and deposits in caves, before the evidence had en- 
dured careful sifting. 

But, not to dwell on miscellaneous examples, let us 
take David Frederick Strauss, as he reveals himself in 
his last work, " The Old Faith and The New." In 
that book he hastens to adopt and apply the Darwinian 
hypothesis, as though it had become an accepted truth 
of science, even while he admits its great imperfec- 
tions. He feels sure that it has opened up the hitherto 
concealed mysteries of Nature, and he boldly elabor- 
ates the details, and builds up a universe by its aid, 
peopled by self-development. True, the scientists were 
then in doubt, and even now those whose opinion is 
authority do little more than affirm its great plausi- 
bility in certain respects, and its utility provisionally, 
as a working hypothesis, while admitting difficulties in 
its path as yet insuperable. This, however, docs not 



424 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

abash a thorough skeptic, like Strauss, whose course 
would be none the less irrational, if eventually Dar- 
winism should prove to be true. He can accept a 
theory he likes, in advance of the proof, and is ready 
to endorse it in physics, because it is helpful in com- 
batting theology ! Listen to his words : " The theory 
is unquestionably still very imperfect ; it leaves an 
infinity of things unexplained, and, moreover, not 
only details, but leading and cardinal questions ; it 
rather indicates possible future solutions, than gives 
them already itself. But be that as it may, it contains 
something which exerts an irresistible attraction over 
spirits athirst for truth and freedom. It resembles a 
railway whose track is just marked out. What abysses 
will still require to be filled in, or bridged over, what 
mountains to be tunneled, how many a year will 
elapse ere the train of eager travelers will swiftly and 
comfortably be borne along and onwards ! Neverthe- 
less, we can see the direction it will take ; thither it 
shall and must go, where the flags are fluttering joy- 
fully in the breeze. Yes, joyfully ; in the purest, most 
exalted, spiritual dehght. Yainly did we philosophers 
and critical theologians, over and over again, decree 
the extermination of miracles ; our ineffectual sentence 
died away, because we could neither dispense with 
miraculous agency, nor point to any natural force able 
to supply it, where it had hitherto seemed most indis- 
pensable. Darwin has demonstrated this force, this 
process of Natui-e ; he has opened the door by wliich a 
happier coming race will finally cast out miracles. 



THE CEEDULITY OF SKEPTICISM. 425 



Every one who knows what miracles imply will praise 
him as one of the greatest benefactors of the human 
race." This is a plain confession of the animus which 
impelled his scientific studies, and one is consequently 
not surprised at the coarse and hardy manner in v/hich 
he applied and illustrated the Darwinian theory, the 
ease with which he evolved new species from the 
scantiest materials, and the nonchalant way in which 
he ignored the formidable difficulties. A theologian 
who should do this, confessedly in the interest of Iiis 
religious theory, would justly be the scorn of the scien- 
tists, and would be pronounced a credulous imbecile 
by the skeptics. 

5. Very similar is the display of credulity made 
in connection luith facts of history which skepticism has 
thought to press into service. Here also undue haste 
has been manifest in reaching conclusions, and eager- 
ness to believe has overpowered reasonable caution. 
A generation since the rationalists asserted that al- 
phabetic writing was unknown in the time of Moses, 
and that consequently he could not have written the 
Pentateuch ; but now the researches in Egypt, Baby- 
lonia, and Assyria prove such writing to have been 
used centuries earlier than Moses, it being found on 
bricks and clay cylinders at Mugheir (the ancient Ur) 
which are assigned a date of B. C. 2200, or three 
centuries before Abraham ! But where it suits their 
purpose, skeptics exercise faith in precisely the opposite 
direction, and find evidence of human art thousands 
of years earlier than they suppose the Scriptures to 



426 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

authorize it. Thus when the French savans, in 1799, 
discovered a zodiac on the ceihng of the portico of a 
temple at Denderah, in Egypt, which represented an 
intersection of the equator by the ecliptic, at points 
quite different from the present equinoxes, they imme- 
diately concluded that the temple was built at a time 
when the intersection was as represented. Calcula- 
ting back the precession of the equinoxes, they gave 
the temple a date of 15,000 to 17,000 years B. C, and 
then the skeptics raised a shout, at having demolished 
the chronology of the Old Testament as to the date of 
the creation of man. But credulity overleaped the 
mark. Subsequent examination convinced scholars 
that the ancient Egyptians did not use a zodiac. Then 
the inscriptions on the temple, when deciphered, proved 
its very late erection ; as they not only contained the 
names of Augustus, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Ptolemy 
Csssurion, and his mother Cleopatra, but were accom- 
panied by their profile portraits, while Seyffarth, the 
German archaeologist and astronomer, finds the planets 
in the Denderah zodiac to mark the date of Nero's 
birth, A. D. 37. 

Yery much of the same character was the well 
known calculation of human antiquity by Mr. Leonard 
Horner, based on fragments of pottery and brick 
brought up by borings in the alluvium of the Nile 
delta, from a depth of sixty to seventy feet. Claiming 
that the annual deposit of mud from the overflow of 
the Nile amounts to but six inches in a century, he 
argued that these fragments proved the existence of 



THE CREDULITY OP SKEPTICISM. 



427 



man there twelve thousand years ago ! The skeptics 
caught up the idea, at once, as incontrovertible, and 
made it do large service in popular lectures and in 
grave works of science. The credulous souls were 
too eager, however, in their faith; for careful 
observation and measurement show that the Nile de- 
posit is much more rapidly made ; while of the pottery 
found at different points, some specimens on examina- 
tion indicated Roman, and others Grecian manufacture, 
not further back than the time of Alexander tlie 
Great, while Mr. R. Stephenson, the engineer, found 
near Damietta, at a still greater depth, a brick bearing 
the modern stamp of Mohammed Ali ! The current 
of a great river will sometimes do in a month, what 
in different circumstances may require years. Quite 
as credulous and as false, was the skeptical faith in 
the immense antiquity of the pyramids, and of the 
early Egyptian monarchs, who were professedly traced 
back for 10,000 and even 20,000 years before Christ ! 
But that eminent Egyptologist, Sir G. C. Lewis, 
(" Astronomy of Ancients," p. 369,) says, with a true 
irony : " Egyptology has a historical method of its own ; 
it recognizes none of the ordinary rules of evidence ; 
the extent of its demands upon our credulity is almost 
unbounded. Even the writers on ancient Italian eth- 
nology are modest and tame in their hypothesis com- 
pared with the Egyptologists. Under their potent 
logic all identity disappears ; everything is subject to 
become anything but itself ; successive dynasties be- 
come contemporaneous dynasties ; one king becomes 



428 PRATER AND ITS EEIMARKABLE ANSWERS. 



anotlier king : or several other kings, or a fraction of 
another king ; one name becomes another name ; one 
member becomes another member ; one place becomes 
another place." 

6. But skeptical credulity is manifold when it con- 
cerns itself loith religious and semi-religious tlieoines 
accepted in the place of the religidn of the Bible. These 
are some of its forms : (1.) A curious simplicity of 
faith, in supposing that there can be any agreement 
in mere Naturalism. Many a young man, deluded 
with the idea of a progress in thought which has left 
Christianity behind, parts with the religion of liis 
parents and of his childhood, and veritably supposes 
that he is simply to lay aside the Bible and the super- 
stitions which have grown up around it, and to be 
thereafter a man of free thought and independent 
action, guiding himself by conscience and serving 
God by an upright life. This is his imagined alterna- 
tive to Christianity. But alas ! he soon learns that, 
like Noah's dove, it is one thing to leave the ark, and 
fly abroad over a waste of waters, and another to find 
a place on which to fold the wearied wing and alight 
for rest. He opens work after work of the skeptical 
authors, to ascertain what he is to think on religious 
subjects ; and the more he reads, the more is he per- 
plexed. He has his unfortunate choice between 
Atheism, of the Bradlaugh, or of the Yogt and 
Biichner type ; or Pantheism, after Spinoza, or after 
Hegel and other German philosophers ; or Positivism, 
as taught by Augustc Comtc ; or the acceptance of 



THE CREDULITY OF SKEPTICISM. 



429 



" the Unknown " cause with Herbert Spencer and 
John Stuart Mill ; or old fashioned Deism with Lord 
Herbert and Jean Jacques Rousseau ; or modern Nat- 
uralism, with Francis W. Newman and Wm. R. Greg. 
He might have foreseen his trouble, with more intelli- 
gence and caution ; for this voyage is not a trip over 
a lakelet in a gentleman's park, but an attempt to cross 
a wide and stormy ocean, without chart or compass, 
depending solely upon one's eyes and the company of 
other vessels ! 

(2.) Again the credulity comes out in accepting 
purely materialistic theories of the universe. The 
Bible is not too severe in its remark, that the fool 
liath said in his heart, There is no God." That a 
being possessed of mind, conscious of intelligence, 
feeling, and will, himself forming and executing plans, 
and wielding the forces of Nature for his own ends, 
should reject the idea of a Creator, amid the innumicr- 
able indications of design which surround us, and 
which multiply with every added observation, is one 
of the phenomena of skepticism, carried to its extreme 
of absurdity. To hold that matter has in it, from the 
first, the potency of all life and thought, and the 
organific power of the entire cosmos, requiring no 
creative origin, or superintending mind, is a contradic- 
tion of reason in its first principles, — in other words, 
is a piece of credulity, — and we have no mental faculty 
to entertain the hypothesis. If the atheistic evolu- 
tionist deems it unjust to suggest that it is like 
affirming that a chance mingling of the letters of the 



430 PRAYER AXD ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

alphabet might produce a history, or an epic poem, or 
a mathematical treatise, he ought at least to admit 
that it is parallel with the supposition that certain 
substances have an inherent tendency to crystalize in 
the form of letters, and to group themselves into 
syllables, words, and intelligible sentences. His ideal 
world-process may be a little longer, but it involves no 
radically different elements. And it is difficult to see 
a very wide difference between the deification of the 
necessary forces of Nature, which makes matter self- 
sufficient for all conceivable purposes in the universe, 
and that fetich-worship, by degraded tribes, which also 
blindly and superstitiously bows down before unknown 
powers resident in earth and air, in water and fire, 
in bird and beast and tree. It seems only another 
instance in which extremes meet ! 

(3.) Tills easy credence of impossibiiities by skep- 
tics is farther revealed in the humanitarian aspects of 
their professed religion. Some of them make humani- 
tarianism the whole of their religion theoretically, 
while nearly all do the same practically. That is a 
more facile subject to deal with, they think, than the 
mysteries of God. But facile as it may be, compara- 
tively, they manage to run it into absurdity with 
the most smiling complacency. For, contrary to all 
human consciousness and experience, as revealed in 
legislation, in literature, in social custom, in business 
maxims and methods, as well as in religious doctrines 
and rites, they almost invariably proceed upon the 
assumption of the inherent goodness of human charac- 



THE CREDULITY OP SKEPTICISM. 431 



ter. The Bible doctrine of a fall of the race into 
depravity, they reject with unanimous scorn and abhor- 
rence. No, say they, man is good, and is only the 
victim of miseducation, and of unfortunate circum- 
stances, which may easily be corrected. And so we 
have a succession of credulous attempts at social 
reform, led by St. Simon, Fourier, Robert Owen, and 
other regenerators of society; while phalansteries, com- 
munities, and associations are started, which run an 
invariable career of disappointment and ruin ; all com- 
ing to grief from the operation of hum.an selfishness. 
But the next generation of unbelievers is just as 
credulous as its predecessors ; just as ready to believe 
the irrational doctrine of man's native goodness, to 
put implicit faith in some infidel theorizer, and to 
expect a glorious time for the world, when science 
shall have abolished religion, and human perfectibility 
shall have been demonstrated by new social arrange- 
ments. The somewhat sardonic editor of " The 
Nation''^ (July 23, 1874), who is no particular friend 
of evangelical religion, thus hits off their character- 
istics : 

" We find the same men converted into humble, 
wondering, credulous worshipers, who stand with open 
mouths, ready for any legend, tradition, or theory, 
however wild, or however opposed to observed facts, 
which seems likely to exalt any object of their admira- 
tion, or to further any cause they have deeply at heart. 
You meet a scoffer coming away from a church-door, 
full of sneers for the preacher, or of contempt for the 



432 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

congregation, and evidently a skeptic of the skeptics, 
witli whom it is useless to argue ; and, if you are of a 
devout or poetic turn, you thank your stars that you 
are not likely to be brought mucli in contact with such 
a dry, cold, and unsympathetic and unimaginative 
mind. But, begin to talk to him of Humanity, or 
Woman, or the Poor Man, or the Poor Boy, and the 
chances are ninety .to one that you find yourself deal- 
ing with an intellect that might have been trained by 
St. Francis d'Asisi or Cardinal Cullen. He is ready 
for almost any proposition, however monstrous ; in 
fact, the more monstrous it is, the better he likes it. 
When you produce something very wonderful about 
the powers of ordinary human nature, he swallows it 
calmly, and asks if you have not something a little 
stronger. His Garden of Eden is very much the same 
as that in which the Fall took place, but instead of 
putting it 4000 B. c, he puts it a. d. 2500, and calls it 
tlie ' Golden Age.' There will be no work done in it, 
except for exercise. Tillage and manufactures will be 
attended to by machinery, directed by pure and culti- 
vated men and women, in their hours of leisure. 
There will be neither poor nor rich ; or rather all will 
be rich or possess the enjoyments now monopolized by 
the rich. There will be no judges, or lawyers, or 
armies, or navies. Nobody will be cleverer, or more 
learned, or wiser, or stronger than anybody else. 
There will be banks in which everybody will have an 
account, which cannot be overdrawn, and where he 
can have his note cashed without discount. Interest 



THE CREDULITY OF SKEPTICISM. 433 

on money will be unknown, and stocks, instead of 
being bought and sold, will pass by gift. Everybody 
will have a university education, and will get his 
degree by» whatever occupation best pleases him ; some 
by hoeing potatoes, others by reading magazines, and 
others by running to fires and playing hockey in the 
streets. Corn will be carried to tide water at five 
cents a bushel, and any dirty work there may be such 
as cleaning sidewalks or repairing roads after freshets, 
will be done by fatigue parties of would be despots and 
middlemen and monopolists, superintended by brilliant 
women. If you venture to point out any difficulties in 
the way of the realization of these visions, which you 
either draw from human experience, or from the 
observation of the working of natural laws, he incon- 
tinently denounces you as a heartless reactionary, who 
would shut the gates of mercy on mankind, and who 
has no sympathy with his fellows, or faith in them; 
and tells you, with a burst of triumph, that these 
beliefs which you reject, he means for his part to 
cherish to his last hour ; that they are his support and 
consolation under all the sufferings and calamities of 
his life ; that without them the world would be to him 
a howling waste, and the future a dark and dismal 
void." 

This is, of course, purposely overdrawn, but is very 
near to the literal truth. The student of Comte's 
theories of society and progress will encounter equally 
gross absurdities, and hence we read in the North 
American Review (April, 1875): " Comte's writings 



434 PEAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

teem with contradictions. He proclaims a bierarcliy, 
but excludes coercion by laws. He expects ' free 
assent,' but does not admit free will. He talks of 
dynamics, but does not believe in forces ; of morals, 
but knows of no final causes ; of faith, but excludes 
the idea of the supernatural. He calls for progress, 
but cannot tell us why we should move at all, con- 
sidering that every thing is fixed and final in liis hier- 
archy. He gives us, no doubt, a world of order and 
of love ; but it is order without an aim, love without 
free will, and a world without a cause. And how 
utterly inhuman the citizens of this Comtean world 
must be, may be best seen from what is expected of 
its criminals, who are to give their ' free assent ' to 
their own punishments. Fortunately for them these 
punishments are to consist principally in admonitions 
and excommunications ; so that Comte's criminals are 
no worse off than the school-boy who was allowed to 
choose between a good flogging and the schoolmaster's 
silent contempt, and who had no difficulty in making 
up his mind." 

(4.) Nor does the credulity depart, when, in a 
partial reaction, they endeavor to achieve a religion 
with something like positive features. Of this, Spirit- 
ualism, or modern Necromancy 'is proof, on a large 
scale. It immbers thousands who attribute supersti- 
tion to intelligent Christians, and then bow down 
before the grossest puerilities ; wlio denounce the 
priestcraft of the ministers of the gospel, and then 
go and sit for hours in a dim light or in entire dark- 



THE CREDULITY OP SKEPTICISMo 435 



ness, to be hoodwinked by cunning mediums ; who 
reject the dignified utterances of prophets and apostles, 
to swallow the inflated rhetoric of professed spirits ; 
who turn from the purity of the New Testament, to 
accept the free love doctrines of social reformers 
claiming to speak in behalf of higher spheres ; who 
have some little professed respect for Jesus, as a man 
and teacher, but much more faith in Andrew Jackson 
Davis, or " Katie King " ! One is not surprised that 
the credulity of a life long skeptic, such as Robert 
Dale Owen, (who, like Drs. Hare and Crowell, confes- 
sedly rushed from Materialism to Spiritualism,) when 
exposed, by a sad blunder, to the gaze of a laughing 
world, should pass into insanity.. 

Such being the instructive array of facts as to the 
manifold credulity of the different classes of skeptics, 
one need not be at a loss for the explanation. The 
human mind is ever alternating between extj-emes, 
and as faith and doubt sometimes come into conflict 
in a Christian, credulity and doubt are not far apart in 
an unbeliever. After long hesitancy, men often settle 
in their choices upon the poorest object offered to 
them, wearied by delay and uncertainty. And so a 
skeptic, having lost his anchor, and not liking to be 
afloat in his little skiff, grasps at the first overhanging 
branch, or jumps into the first shallow water. A 
want of thorough candor, a state of mind in which 

the wish is father to the thought," a purpose to find 
evidence to use against the Bible leads others astray ; 
for a foregone conclusion makes many a professed in- 



436 PRAYER ANI> ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

vestigator credulous in accepting seemingly serviceable 
testimony. And then the skeptical scientists are more 
or less in active and jealous competition, while the 
ever ready press is a temptation to rush into print 
with incomplete observations and rash inferences, so 
as to carry off the glory of a first discovery. But 
Christian philosophers can afford to await the results 
of extended investigation and mature induction. As 
said the prophet ; "He that believeth shall not make 
haste." They have a rational faith m him who, when 
a prisoner at Pilate's bar, made the same liigh claim 
as when before applauding multitudes ; " To this end 
was I born, and for this cause came 1 into the world, 
that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone 
that is of the truth heareth my voice." 

We need not fear, then, to believe his words respect- 
ing prayer. They will be found to involve no scientific 
or other absurdity. They are based on an infallible 
knowledge of the relations of the seen and the unseen 
universe. It is intelligence and not superstition which 
leads the Christian to act upon the assertion of J esus : 
" Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek and ye shall 

find ; knock and it shall be opened unto you 

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts 
unto your children, how much more shall your Father 
which is in heaven give good things to them that ask 
him 1" 



SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER NO. II . 



THE RELATIONS OF SCIENCE AND REVEALED 
RELIGION. 

What I have to suggest on this subject, additional 
to the remarks in chapter seventh, shall be in the way 
of instruction and caution, with a view to securing 
action that shall be intelligent, truth-loving, and self- 
respecting. 

1. We must never foi-get that scientific truth and 
religious truth are equally legitimate subjects of study. 
Both concern themselves with the facts of the universe, 
to ascertain what and whence they are ; though for 
different reasons, and in some respects with different 
sources of evidence. Both require the same quaHties 
of mind and heart, — love of truth, humility, reverence, 
patience, acuteness, imagination, judgment. There 
is in the nature of the two pursuits, nothing to make 
them mutually repugnant. The theologian may be, 
and often is, an intelligent, enthusiastic, and even 
leading student of science ; while the scientist may 
also deeply ponder the sublime and difficult mysteries 
of theology. The theologian cannot fail to see that 
physical phenomena, in number so vast, in kind so 
varied, and in origin so mysterious, are a proper sub- 
ject of investigation. The student gains knowledge 

(437) 



438 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

and mental discipline ; the philanthropist discovers re- 
sults promotive of human welfare ; and the Christian 
hails an enlargement of the evidence of the divine 
existence, power, wisdom, and goodness. On the 
other hand, a candid and thoughtful scientist perceives 
that there are religious and spiritual phenomena, some 
of them certified by history, and some now open to 
observation and revealing themselves in consciousness, 
which also are numerous, important, and mysterious, 
and which, like physical phenomena, demand study, 
in order to classification and the discovery of their 
appropriate laws and source. 

Here, th.en, are two universes over against each 
other ; the physical and the spiritual ; each with its 
peculiarities of law and manifestation, but both the 
creation of God. Each may have its own students ; 
and in either case they are students of divine revel- 
ation, and may expect divine guidance, in efforts to 
ascertain truth. It must be pleasing to God, that His 
works are studied as well as His Word ; since they also 
represent His mind and heart, and are intended to 
educate the soul in reverence, in humility, in thirst 
for knowledge, in understanding of duty, and in ador- 
ing love and worship. The scientist may well admit 
that there is other than natural philosophy ; while the 
theologian knows that there is other than a merely 
Scriptural theology. The nineteenth Psalm combines 
the two for religious purposes, in inspired poetry, be- 
ginning with, " The heavens declare the glory of God, 
and the firmament showeth his handy work," and, in 



RELATIONS OF SCIENCE AND REVEALED RELIGION. 439 

the second part, passing to, " The law of the Lord is 
perfect, converting the soul." It is impossible for the 
intelligent theologian to look otherwise than with favor 
upon science, which investigates the wonders of one 
of the two kingdoms of God. He cannot be narrow 
enough to frown upon its studies, to restrict the range 
of its investigations, or to fear the ultimate results of 
its discoveries ; even if skeptical scientists are narrow 
enough to recognize only the department of physics. 
Trutli is so profound and manifold, that it needs the 
combined aid of all good and wise men to bring it 
from its hiding places in every department of thought. 

2. The next truth to be rightly apprehended is, 
that investigations in these two departments are to be 
conducted with entire independence. Each is to be 
free from dictation, that it may reach its own class of 
truths, along its own line of evidence. Science must 
not have a solution of its problems forced upon it 
(were that possible) from any unscientific quarter. 
Experiments must be conducted, observation must be 
extended, laws must be ascertained, hypotheses must 
be framed, with an eye single to the most rational in- 
terpretation of undeniable facts. This is obvious even 
within the range of physical science. A chemist can- 
not allow an astronomer to dictate his conclusions, 
nor can a botanist waive what his own evidence teaches 
him, in deference to the demands of the geologist. 
Much less, then, can a physicist permit nature to be 
interpreted for him by the theologian, contrary to the 
plain teaching of the facts of science. He sits a calm, 



440 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

passionless, impartial judge, to weigh evidence, and to 
determine according to physical law; receiving bribes 
from no one, and consenting to adopt no foregone con- 
clusions. It is true, that the most widely separated 
departments meet on common ground, and find occa- 
sion to compare results, and, in case of discord, to 
revise processes. If the geologist is informed by the 
chemist, or by the botanist, that some of his conclu- 
sions involve reasoning inconsistent with ascertained 
laws in the other branches of science, he vrill see occa- 
sion for pausing in his interpretations of nature, and 
for reconsidering his positions. In so doing he may 
put the chemist or the botanist on trial, also, to test 
the correctness of their statements. There is a mistake 
somewhere ; it may be in his conclusions inferred from 
certain phenomena in the rocks ; or it may be in the 
assumed facts of the chemist or botanist ; or it may 
be, after all, in the supposition that there is any want 
of harmony between the two. But neither party is to 
decide the question for the other, nor in any way but 
according to the laws and methods of his own depart- 
ment of science. Nobody is to dictate; nobody is to 
submit; but all are to study the evidence and be con- 
vinced. 

And this idea holds equally true within the depart- 
ment of theology, whenever two of its earnest and 
able students reach differing conclusions. Perhaps 
they are the Professor of Didactic Theology and tlie 
Professor of Biblical Exegesis, in the same institution. 
Both hold to the authority of Scripture, and both have 



EELATIONS OF SCIENCE AND REVEALED RELIGION. 441 

faith in the intuitions of Reason. What shall be done ? 
Which shall yield to the other? Plainly neither, on 
any ground of authority. Each must revise his rea- 
soning with the aid of the additional facts furnished 
by the other. When Rev. Dr. Leonard Woods of the 
Andover Theological Seminary once complained that 
Prof. Moses Stuart was teaching the classes a different 
doctrine, on certain points, from himself, he con» 
tended that, as he was the teacher of theology, Prof. 
S. ought not, in giving exegetical instruction, to im- 
part a different idea of true doctrine. Prof. S. very 
shrewdly and properly replied, that if Dr. Woods 
would promise him not to interpret any text of Scrip- 
ture contrary to his exegetical teaching, he would 
promise in turn not to inculcate any doctrinal tenet 
contrary to the theological teaching of Dr. Woods ! 
What more could be said ? 

Similarly must any seeming conflict be settled be- 
tween the scientist and the theologian. Each is inde- 
pendent of the other, and master, in a certain sense, 
of his own field ; and yet either may occasionally be 
compelled to face the variant conclusions of the other. 
Shall the theologian allow the scientist in that case 
to dictate the position which both shall assume ? How 
can he, and be faithful to the truth in his department, 
after which he has sincerely sought in the use of the 
legitimate means? Shall the well established author- 
ity of Scripture go for naught, in the presence of hu- 
man inferences from natural phenomena? How does 
he know that the scientist has observed with sufficient 



442 FRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

care, and has interpreted with unmistakable correct- 
ness ? On the other hand, the man of science properly 
scorns to have a scientific conclusion set aside on 
other than scientific grounds. So long as the phe- 
nomena and laws of nature point directly to a certain 
fact, why should he fail to accept it, because a certam 
book, said to be divinely inspired, is reported to teach 
the contrary ? Would it not the rather seem, since 
God could not contradict the testimony of his works, 
that the said book was not divinely inspired ? Or if 
it was thus inspired, who knows that on this point it 
has been rightly interpreted ? It is no new thing for in- 
terpreters of Scripture to differ, or for an old, accepted 
interpretation to be abandoned for perceived reason. 

How really alike the foundations of both departments 
are is well set forth by Morell (" History of Philos- 
ophy," p. 721) : " It never seems to be imagined by 
those who reject evidence of a convincing nature, on 
the ground of some prejudication of matter, that their 
own fondest and most sacred beliefs rest upon evidence 
of the very same kind. I will suppose, for example, 
that a man rejects the antiquity of the crust of the 
earth, on the plea (though a false one) that it contra- 
dicts the Mosaic cosmogony. On what ground, we 
would ask, does he accept, and hold so firmly, the truth 
of the Pentateuch ? His faith in it must rest prima- 
rily upon testimony borne to certain facts presented. 
But this is precisely the evidence which the geologist 
brings to establish the principles he asserts. He pre- 
sents, first of all, facts of which he himself and others 



RELATIONS OF SCIENCE AND REVEALED RELIGION. 443 

have been eyewitnesses ; from these facts he draws 
with great caution certain conclusions ; and then, on 
the ground of the truth of the testimony and the valid- 
ity of the reasoning which builds itself upon it, he sum- 
mons the belief of mankind. On what plea, then, does 
any man admit the evidence in the one case, and reject 
it in the other ? Or if he repudiates the conclusion of 
the geologist, how can he complain, if another repudi- 
ates that of the theoiogian ? .... The mistaken 
zeal, of saving a theological truth at the expense of a 
philosophical one, may end in involving both in a com- 
mon doubt or destruction." In logical as in mechan- 
ical work we must be careful how we use sharp tools. 
In spiritual as in carnal warfare there must be caution 
in wielding a two-edged sword. 

But some one will ask whether Scripture is to be 
allowed no voice on those questions of a physical nature 
on which it has occasion to touch ? Certainly we must 
listen to its voice, and listen, too, with special atten- 
tion, that we may know what it really affirms. But if 
the scientist be a skeptic, how are we to change his 
opinion on a physical question, simply by quoting 
Scripture against it ? Are we not more likely by that 
method to confirm his unbelief? Must we not go 
into investigation of the case with him on his own 
ground, as a scientist, and prove that he has but par- 
tially examined the phenomena, or has been hasty and 
unwarranted in his inferences ? Or if he be a Chris- 
tian scientist, and insist that we wrongly interpret the 
Bible on this point, against the plain teaching of God 



444 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

in nature ; what can result, but a double process of a 
similar kind ? As in the former case, we must revise 
with him his professional work as a scientist, guided 
by natural phenomena, and he must revise with us our 
professional work as theologians, guided by the author- 
ity of the Bible ; the revision in each case being ac- 
cording to the independent principles of physical and 
of hermeneutical science. 

Tlie truth is, that we rule out human infallibility on 
both sides. If God were audibly speaking in each 
case, explaining now his works and then his word, 
there would be no difficulty. We should accept his 
statements at once. But, as the case stands, the sci- 
entist and the theologian is each an uninspired and 
fallible interpreter — the one of the works, and the 
other of the word ; and each must be true to his own 
vocation. The man of science must ingenuously an- 
nounce what he honestly imagines himself to have 
found in the realm of nature. The man of Scripture 
must with equal pronounce dness declare what to his 
mind appears to be the written revelation. Dr. W. B. 
Carpenter (^Contemporary Review for December, 1873) 
does not unreasonably describe the situation, when he 
says: "Absolute truth no man of science can ever 
hope to grasp; for he knows that all human search 
for it must be limited by human capacity. But he 
denies the right of any one else to impose on him as 
' absolute truth ' his own fallible exposition of the rev- 
elation conveyed in the teachings of religiously-inspired 
men ; for he claims an equal right to be accounted a 



RELATIONS OF SCIENCE AND REVEALED RELIGION. 4-15 

true expositor of the Revelation conveyed in the di- 
vine order of the Universe." 

3. We are now prepared to notice the fact that, as 
the Bible was given to teach religious and not scientific 
truth, it should always be interpreted from that point 
of view. Physical knowledge is the object of natural 
science. Salvation is the object of the written revela- 
tion. Every document, every book should be explained 
in harmony with its avowed object. That which is 
paramount in the intention of the writer should be 
kept so in the thoughts of the reader. The Bible was 
obviously not written to throw light on science, as 
such ; because there was a more imperative need to be 
met, and because the happiest development of the 
human mind needed the stimulus and discipline of 
gradual scientific research through the ages. A physi- 
cal fact, such as science notes or discusses, is nowhere 
set forth in the Bible as if propounded to faith ; but^ at 
most, is only incidentally mentioned on the way to a 
religious truth. That God is the original Creator of 
the universe ; that man, made in his spiritual image, is 
now in a fallen condition ; that sin is the source of the 
world's present wretchedness, and threatens woe in a 
future state of being ; that man is impotent to deliver 
himself from this condition of ruin ; and that a divine 
redemption has been provided through Jesus Christ, 
and is freely offered to all men, — this is the burden of 
Bible history, law, psalm, prophecy, and epistle. Com- 
posed during the course of fifteen centuries, and closed 
eighteen centuries since, the Bible necessarily uses the 



446 PRAYEP. AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

language and ideas, prevalent at the time, on the sub- 
jects upon which science has since, and mostly within 
three centuries, shed so much light. Thus alone could 
it be intelligible, be true to its aim, and be compressed 
within proper limits. We should expect, therefore, to 
meet with forms of speech differing from, and in tlie 
letter inconsistent with, scientific statements. We 
should expect, moreover, that these would at first be 
literally interpreted as a divine affirmation ; so that 
subsequent scientific discovery would be reproached as 
seeking to contradict Scripture. If the Bible was for 
all the ages, as announcing " the everlasting gospel," 
then it might well be so written, as to require the 
intellectual and spiritual growth of many ages to 
develop its full meaning and use. A popular, or figura- 
tive, or allegorical, or traditional way of describing a 
physical occurrence or phenomenon, will often be found 
to include a kernel of truth to which modern science 
gives attestation, though under another name and 
description. 

In saying this, I do not question the fact that the 
Bible is committed to something definite, in its state- 
ment of early events. That the world had a Creator ; 
that creation was, in certain respects, successive and 
gradual ; that man was the last and highest of earthly 
existences ; and that rude and simple as may have been 
his primitive condition, in respect to external civiliza- 
tion, he was at first holy, and fell into subsequent 
degradation ; — these are clear allegations. So far, 
then, as science has occasion to consider such facts, it 



RELATIONS OF SCIENCE AND REVEALED RELIGION. 447 

treads common ground with Scripture, and it is reason- 
able to inquire, wiiether on these points the teaching is 
harmonious. 

Let it apparently be discrepant ; the case is, in some 
respects, like one of discrepant testimony often occur- 
ring in a court of law. Two witnesses of equally good 
character seem to testify contradictorily. It may prove 
true, that neither has fallen into a mistake, after due 
inquiry is made into their meaning, and all misunder- 
standings are cleared. If science and theology are 
seemingly at variance, it is to be remembered that 
neither is infallible, though each represents an infalli- 
ble teacher. The scientist may not have hit upon the 
true induction of the physical phenomena ; the theolo- 
gian may not have hit upon the true induction of the 
spiritual phenomena. The scientist, according to his 
present light, interprets nature ; but his exegesis may 
be, yea often has been at fault, and a profounder 
student may derive from its revelations a different 
doctrine. The theologian, in turn, according to his 
present light, interprets Scripture ; but his exegesis 
also may err through defect of insight, of knowledge, 
or of care. When we call to mind the long succession 
of scientific theories once firmly held but now dis- 
carded, and remember also the similarly discarded 
Biblical interpretations, we need feel no special alarm 
over a present lack of harmony. The solution may 
come gradually, or suddenly ; from the side of science, 
or from that of theology. But until it shall come, 
each student of truth must patiently work at the prob- 



448 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

lem in his own department of thought, according to 
its methods of investigation and laws of reasoning, not 
allowing himself to be unduly influenced by preposses- 
sions or prejudices from other quarters, nor striving to 
bend facts, or inferences, to reach a desired result. 

In such case no violence is done to reason by 
patiently waiting for additional evidence ; nor is there 
hostility evinced by the one party to the other, in 
affirming, meanwhile, that at the present the problem 
stands thus and so ; each stating candidly the appar- 
ent teaching of his own department, and there mod- 
estly pausing. The Christian scientist would not by 
such a method of procedure be untrue either to his 
science or to his faith. He would say that science 
seems now to indicate a certain conclusion, which does 
not appear to consist with the language of Scripture 
as heretofore interpreted. He would also say, that 
evidently the whole case is not before us ; that new 
facts may modify scientific reasoning, or that addi- 
tional study of the laws of language and of inspired 
usage may modify the seeming teaching of Scripture. 
Nor would this course be liable to just criticism. It is 
not properly exposed to the sneer of Biichner, when 
("Matter and Force," chapter YI.) says: "A respec- 
table naturalist recently gave the ingenious advice, 
that we should keep two consciences, a scientific and 
a religious conscience ; which for the peace of our 
minds he should keep perfectly separate, as they can- 
not be reconciled. This process is now known by 
the technical expression, ' Book-keeping by Double 



RELATIONS OP SCIENCE AND REVEALED RELIGION. 449 

Entry.' " We advise no self-delusion, no self -stultifi- 
cation, no double conscience, but only a ^vise caution, 
a prudent delay, a humble modesty which does not 
think to become omniscient in a year, or even in a life- 
time. 

But if, after long waiting and study, the conclusions 
of science are only the more corroborated, as investi- 
gation proceeds ; if the facts accumulate, in one and 
another department, until the concurrent testimony is 
overwhelmiong, and no intelligent and candid man can 
resist the inference ; the Christian must accept the 
truth thus drawn from God's book of nature, and must 
modify his Scriptural exegesis to harmonize with it. 
Take, for instance, the development theory of the 
origin of the various species of animals and plants. 
Although this is not yet accepted by all scientists, and 
lacks greatly in positive proof, the time may come 
when it will be able to supply evidence now lacking, 
and to make denial unreasonable. In such case, we 
will remember that, though part of its present advo- 
cates are pantheists or atheists, the idea itself is 
harmonious with theism. Admit the agency of a per- 
sonal Creator, and the question still remains as to his 
method. Did he create each species, or order, or class 
of plants and animals, separately ; or did he create an 
original germ, capable of developing in time all vege- 
table and animal life ? Either course was open to 
omnipotence, and worthy of the Godhead ; and whicli 
was actually taken must be determined by the evidence 
alone. That evidence can only come from the traces 



450 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

of processes in nature, or from an inspired narrative 
of the method of creation, such as we have in the 
Bible. When men first saw a worm, a chrysalis, and 
a butterfly, they no doubt thought them to be three 
separate creations. Afterwards they learned that tlie 
worm developed into the chrysalis, and that into the 
butterfly. The divine power and wisdom were none 
the less evident, when this latter discovery was made. 
And so if it could be proved, that the plai^of nature 
universally was that of development, it would still be 
a divine plan. The only question would be whether 
the account in Genesis could reasonably be interpreted 
to comport with that method. Such an interpretation 
was substantially taught by Augustine, and is yet not 
ruled out, in case the facts point in that direction. 

Nor does this course imply an irreverent handling 
of God's word, or weakness of faith in its inspiration ; 
for no violence is done to the rules of exegetical 
science. The power of ancient opinion, custom, and 
method to blind even intelligent minds is notorious. 
The utter misinterpretations of Scripture by good and 
wise men, in the past, under such an influence, in con- 
nection with doctrinal theology and with questions of 
civil, social, and humanitarian reform, are not to be 
denied. That there have also been such on scientific 
points, is susceptible of manifold proof, and as the 
principle involved is important and may have other 
applications in the future, I shall be pardoned for 
bringing forward familiar illustrations, in which Bibli- 
cal exegesis has yielded its positions to the new light 
of science. 



RELATIONS OF SCIENCE AND REVEALED RELIGION. 451 

It was once universally accepted, as the teaching of 
the Bible, that the physical universe was created about 
six thousand years ^ago — sun and stars as well as 
earth ; and it was only as the contradiction of this 
idea came out in geologic science, that it was slowly 
abandoned by the interpreters of Scripture. Now the 
Bible is understood to affirm only an original creation 
of matter by divine fiat, indefinite ages since, a subse- 
quent gradual modification of earthly conditions, and 
the comparatively recent introduction of man. For 
centuries, the Bible was thouglit to teach that the 
earth was a horizontal plane, and that it had no 
motion, but was the fixed center around which the 
heavenly bodies revolved. What then passed for sci- 
ence also taught the same, and the interpreters of the 
Bible were Ptolemaists when they read the divine 
word, and explained its popular language as literally 
and scientifically true. But the Copernican theory 
revolutionized both science and Biblical exegesis ; in 
the end converting alike Romanist and Protestant 
interpreters, and introducing a new and most reason- 
able canon into hermeneutical law, to wit, that the 
inspired writers must be understood as using popular 
and not scientific modes of speech, and as adopting, 
for their incidental allusions to physical facts, the 
ideas and theories current in their own day. And 
so we read in the Bible of the rishig and setting of 
sun, moon, and stars, of the pillars of the earth, of 
the expanse or firmament overhead, and of the three 
heavens, undisturbed by the want of scientific correct- 
ness. 



452 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

And similarly it has been held, until very recently, 
that the Bible recorded a deluge which covered the 
entire globe, for fifty feet or more above the highest 
mountains, and that Noah built an ark large enough 
to hold specimens of all the beasts, birds, and insects 
which would have perished by such an event, suffi- 
ciently numerous to propagate their kind, with food 
enough to keep them alive for one year; and that eight 
persons took care of them in the ark during that time ! 
But now that science shows this to have been in part 
literally impossible, and in part not possible without a 
succession of stupendous miracles such as the Bible 
does not hint at, and such as the moral ends to be 
accomplished did not require, commentators are rapidly 
adopting the idea that the deluge, if universal as 
regards the human race, was not such as regards the 
globe itself ; and that a legitimate regard to Oriental 
and Scriptural methods of speech justifies such an 
interpretation of the language in Genesis. This prin- 
ciple opens a wide door, whether it be taken as modify- 
ing interpretation, or as limiting the designed extent 
of the inspiration of the sacred writers ; some prefer- 
ring to state the fact in the former, and others in the 
latter way. 

If we choose the former mode of expression, we 
concede that the inspired use of language has in such 
cases no reference whatever to scientific correctness, 
but only to a true event back of the words ; that it 
may consequently state facts so loosely, so poetically, 
so popularly, so traditionally, as not to convey other 



EELATIONS OF SCIENCE AND REVEALED RELIGION. 453 

than a quite mistaken meaning, if at all literally in- 
terpreted ; and that it only cares for the associated 
religious or ethical idea chiefly had in view. If we 
prefer the latter statement, we concede that inspiration 
did not include the communication of physical truth, 
in any case, but left the sacred writers to the belief of 
their times and the traditions of their nation, and 
moved them only in the declaration of spiritual truth. 
This involves more difficulty in harmonizing the theory 
with the laws of language, and with faith in scripture 
testimony ; the natural and the supernatural being 
interblended in the inspired record, and the religious 
idea being frequently dependent on the physical fact 
described. And yet, in the last resort, if pressed by 
unanswerable arguments from the side of science, few 
even of the most conservative Christian thinkers 
would long hesitate to make such distinction as to the 
extent and subject-matter of inspiration as might be 
necessary to save the spiritual teaching of the Bible 
from discredit and rejection. And for this course they 
would have reason other than their cherished regard 
for the Christian faith, and a Micah-like despair in the 
prospect of losing their idol. They would rationally 
allege, that every doctrine must rest on its own basis, 
and be defined according to the facts which it seeks to 
cover. Hence if the formulated doctrine of inspira- 
tion could not be made to cover a class of facts relat- 
ing to Jewish ideas of cosmogony, or of the laws of 
nature, but plainly was required by the facts which 
relate to spiritual truth and duty, and the life and 



454 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

mission of Jesus Christ, then the theory must be 
adjusted to the phenomena, as in any other rational 
procedure. Moreover, one would have no right to set 
aside the positive and conclusive evidence of divine 
redemptive intervention, afforded alike in the Old and 
in the New Testaments, in consequence of a seeming 
lack of scientific and historic accuracy in some of the 
records in Genesis, could such lack of accuracy be 
established ; the fact of which, however, I do not con- 
cede. We should still feel obliged to cling to Christ, 
on multiplied intellectual and spiritual grounds ; and 
his seeming endorsement of Moses is one of the 
strongest reasons for believing that there can never 
be success in attempting to bring Genesis and science 
into permanent discord. The result of all these con- 
siderations should be a conviction that, alike in theology 
and in science, while we are true to evidence we are 
true to ourselves, to the world, and to God. 

These general reasonings admit of an application 
to the specific subject of this volume. Theologians in 
every age have emphasized the privilege and duty of 
prayer. They have insisted that it was equally a doc- 
trine of natural and of revealed religion. That it is 
inculcated in the Bible, by precept, by promise, by 
example, by commendation, and by explanation, no 
reader can deny. Upon such a view the public rites 
of the Church, and the private exercises of individual 
saints have been based. The general idea is plainly 
fundamental, and no fair exegesis can exclude from 
Scripture the revealed fact that God answers the 



RELATIONS OF SCIENCE AND REVEALED RELIGION. 455 



prayers of men. But no doubt very crude explana- 
tions of this fact have in past times been set forth by 
preachers and commentators, and an attempt has been 
made to support these crudities by reference to particular 
expressions in the Bible. But when objection was 
justly raised against views which seemed to be dishon- 
orable to God and counter to fact, it was easily per- 
ceived by intelligent theologians and interpreters, that 
the ScHptural expressions in question were not to be 
taken in a bold, literal sense ; that they were popular 
phrases and accommodations to the conceptions of the 
mass of mankind. We are not to form our theory of 
prayer, in its philosophic completeness, from the exact 
words used in a particular passage, or from the logical 
inferences which might be gathered from the figurative 
expressions of ordinary language. 

On the other hand, certain men of science have not 
known how to provide a place for prayer in their 
scheme of cosmic forces ; as we saw in the discussion 
of their difficulties and objections in the seventh 
chapter of this work. We give them credit for sin- 
cerity. Their intellectual trouble is real. They see 
a vast realm of material phenomena attributable to 
specific forces, back of which, in their continuous 
action, they knew not how to go ; nor yet how to make 
room among them for a separate or a connected di- 
vine agency, which answers prayer Hence arises a 
temptation to discard both the doctrine of prayer and 
tlie professed revelation in which it is so abundantly 
taught. But here we respectfully suggest, for their 



456 PRAYER AND ITS REMARKABLE ANSWERS. 

consideration, whether they are not arguing in this 
case from what they do not know, instead of from 
what they do know, — from ignorance instead of from 
evidence? There is a great difference between not 
knowing that (and especially how) a certain thing is, 
and knowing that it is not. Science cannot discover 
the method of divine agency amid natural forces, in 
answering prayer ; but this does not prove that no 
such method exists, and thus does not contradict the 
Bible doctrine. But science can perceive that man 
answers the requests of his fellow man by using 
nature's forces ; and thus it furnishes probability to the 
Scriptural revelation of a spiritual realm in contact 
with nature and capable of subordinating it to its own 
purposes, as prayer implies. It is quite rational to 
suppose that when the experience of the next life shall 
have disclosed the mystery of the connection of spirit- 
ual with material forces, the scientist will be astonished 
and ashamed that he doubted the Bible doctrine of 
prayer. 



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